20141120 India 10 buildings damaged in Jamia furniture market fire
India Nov 19 2014 “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
10 buildings damaged in Jamia furniture market fire
Updated: 2014-11-21-03:16
Hundreds of Jamia Nagar residents rushed out onto the roads along with their belongings on Wednesday night after a massive fire in the furniture market threatened to burn down their houses in the congested colony. Fire officials rushed 34 tenders to the spot and brought the blaze under control in five hours.
At least 10 buildings, both residential and commercial constructions, in G-Block of Jamia Nagar were damaged. However, no one was injured as locals raised an alarm and woke up residents of nearby houses and helped them evacuate until the firemen arrived.
The blaze, which broke out around 1am due to a short circuit in one of the shops, spread rapidly as the shops were stacked with furniture till the ceiling. Officials said the fire spread to all the 12 shops in the area within 15 minutes even before the firemen could reach the spot.
It took more than five hours to control the blaze and multiple teams were deployed to confine the fire to the market. A fire officer said that three teams checked the fire from spreading to colonies behind the market. Despite this, a Mercedes and a Honda CRV in an adjacent lane got gutted. “I heard my neighbour calling out my name from downstairs. By then, my cars had been engulfed in flames,” said Mohd Gulsher, a businessman. Firefighters had to climb onto the rooftops of adjoining buildings to spray water. A four-floored building overlooking the market suffered maximum damage. “We could hear women calling for help. A few of us threw stones at the windowpanes to break them open so that they do not suffocate. A few youngsters rushed upstairs and rescued them,” said Bilal Mohammad, a resident of G-Block.
On Thursday morning, there was a huge traffic snarl as residents waited on the Sarita Vihar main road for fire officials to complete their cooling operations. The final flames were doused only after 8am.
Websource:The times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/10-buildings-damaged-in-Jamia-furniture-market-fire/articleshow/45224243.cms