20240607 AC blast triggers another flat fire, two guards dousing flames injured in Noida
India Jun 07 2024 “Apartment houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
AC blast triggers another flat fire, two guards dousing flames injured in Noida
Updated: 2024-06-07
NOIDA: A blast in an indoor unit of an AC triggered a fire in a 17th-floor flat of Eldeco Aamantran in Sector 119 on Wednesday night.
There were no injuries or casualties. This was the third such fire caused by an AC blast in the city in a week.
Fire department officials said that the blaze started around 9pm and quickly spread to the balcony, fanned by strong winds.
The flames were, however, contained by the society’s own emergency team before the fire brigade arrived. Two guards, who battled the blaze, suffered injuries.
Nikhil Singhal, the AOA president of the society, said while Atul Kumar had glass shards pierced into his hands when he tried to break a window in the lift lobby, Devender Kumar suffered burns in one of his legs while trying to contain the flames. He, too, had a cut in his hand when he broke a glass window to let the smoke that had filled the flat barrel out.
“The two guards were treated and sent on medical leave. One of the patrolling guards saw flames leap out of the balcony and informed others on his walkie-talkie,” Singhal added.
Gas supply was snapped and electricity switched off. Guards rushed to the upper floors with fire extinguishers on their shoulders. The family of three was brought out safely and the flames were doused in 20-25 minutes, much before the fire tenders arrived.
Singhal said the entire maintenance team, including Atul and Devender, would be awarded on Independence Day. “They fought the flames without thinking about their own safety. This incident has taught us that if you stay alert, any situation can be brought under control,” he added.
Chief fire officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said they got a call from a society resident a little after 9pm.
“We rushed to the society with five fire tenders. By the time we reached, the society’s own maintenance team and firefighting systems had doused the flames,” the CFO added.
This was the third such fire triggered by a burning AC in the past one week in the city. On May 30, an AC blast had caused a fire in a flat in Lotus Boulevard in Sector 100. Here, too, the society’s own emergency team had doused the flames before the fire fighters arrived.
A couple of days later – on June 1 – a similar fire triggered by an AC had erupted in an IT office in Sector 63. There were no casualties here either.
Engineers warned against keeping ACs on for hours at a stretch, even though the temperature has been hovering around the 45-degree mark.
“ACs are mostly designed to function at 37.5 degrees Celsius. But the temperature here has been shooting well past the 40-degree mark these days. Since it’s so hot outside, hot air is failing to escape the outdoor unit. That is why we must always keep outdoor units in well-ventilated areas. ACs should also be used intermittently. These machines need a little rest,” said Mohammad Nafees Qureshi, an electrical engineering consultant.
Web Source The Times of India