A major fire broke out on the first floor of a 30-story apartment building in Greater Noida West on Wednesday morning. According to fire officials, the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes of being reported.
According to officials, the fire started around 11.45am on the balcony of a first-floor flat in Tower L of Gaur City 14th Avenue.
“At 11.50am, we were alerted about the fire, and two fire tenders were dispatched to the scene. The fire began on the first-floor balcony, where the flat occupants had set up a worship area and lit a lamp. According to preliminary investigations, the synthetic curtains on the balcony appear to have caught fire from the lamp, causing it to spread to the second floor. There was a worship area on the second-floor balcony as well, and that too was covered by synthetic curtains, which caught fire immediately. “By 12.30pm, we had extinguished the fire and brought it under control,” said Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, Gautam Budh Nagar’s chief fire officer, adding that the exact cause of the fire will be determined after further investigation.
He added that by the time fire officials arrived, the flat occupants had already left, and there were no casualties or injuries from the fire.
“The first-floor resident was identified as Archana Mishra, who was not at home at the time of the incident. She left home after lighting a lamp. She was later informed about the fire by her neighbours, and she arrived at the scene after the fire was extinguished. The flat occupant on the second floor, Ritu (goes by her first name), exited her apartment after her balcony caught fire from below,” Chaubey said.
“The high-rise fire safety systems were found to be in working order and it sounded the alarm as soon as the fire broke out. The society’s maintenance team attempted to extinguish the fire using fire safety equipment. By the time the fire brigade arrived, water dispensers had almost extinguished the blaze. So far, no complaints have been received in the matter,” the CFO said.
A video of the incident was widely shared on social media websites, and showed flames and smoke engulfing at least three floors of the tower.
Chaubey advised people to be cautious while lighting lamps in their homes. “We have been conducting several fire safety drills in residential high-rises because it has frequently been observed that lighting lamps for worship in the house often leads to major fires. Therefore, people should take care to keep lamps away from synthetic and flammable material and household items. They should never keep a lamp lit and leave home,” he said.
According to the police, there have been seven incidents in Gautam Budh Nagar since November 2022 of fires starting in houses from lamps.
