2019-09-26 Ludhiana: One dies as fire engulfs multi-storey building
India Sep 27 2019 “Building”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Ludhiana: One dies as fire engulfs multi-storey building
Updated: 2019–09–27
LUDHIANA: One person was choked to death after a major fire erupted in a multi-storey building, used as a godown-cum-residence, on Arya School Road near Damoria Bridge on Thursday morning. Five other family members living in the unit had a miraculous escape.
The flames and intense black smoke coming out of the building made it difficult for the firemen to control the situation.
One station fire officer and leading fireman received minor injuries while two firemen had narrow escape when there was a sudden blast as they tried to enter the premises.
The deceased was identified as Harsh Chawla (55). Other family members who managed to escape of the building were Harsh’s husband Charanjit Chawla, son Manish, his wife Ayushi Chawla and their one-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.
A shopkeeper on the road said at 5.45 am, he and one sweeper saw smoke billowing out from the rear side of the godown. In no time, smoke turned into a major fire. They then raised the alarm and called the fire brigade. When the fire tenders reached, flames had engulfed the entire building. “The owner Charanjit Chawla had come out of the main gate while four people, including two children, were rescued through a ladder in the adjoining street.”
Aatish Rai, sub-fire officer, said the fire brigade was informed at around 6 am. There was huge fire at the main gate on the ground floor due to the presence of huge stock of foam and mattresses. The family members were stuck on the first floor. “The neighbours helped family members to come out. The family realized later that Harsh had not come out,” he said.
Rai said as they opened the main gate, a sudden blast occurred on the ground floor and station fire officer S N Sharma and leading fireman Rajinder Kumar received minor injuries while two other firemen escaped unhurt by lying down on the ground.
He said after controlling the fire on ground and first floor, they searched for the woman and found her unconscious on bed. He said they took her out and she was rushed to the hospital where she died.
The entire multi-storey building was gutted in fire and developed huge cracks. An ATM booth installed in the same building was also damages. People said ATM booth was to be inaugurated on Thursday.
Eight fire tenders were pressed into service which made 25 rounds. Three two-wheelers parked inside the house were burnt completely.
Second tragic death in family due to fire
Family’s neighbour Pritam Singh said about three decades back, the family had seen a similar tragedy when elder brother of Charanjit had died in a fire. Blast in an LPG cylinder in a school situated in the opposite lane had led to the fire. Some three years ago, a small fire incident had taken place in the house when a rocket had entered the house on Diwali.
Lack of hydraulic ladder hits rescue op
The fire department felt the need of a hydraulic ladder on Thursday as there was no other approach to the building except its main gate where there were flames all around. One of the fire officials requesting anonymity said since it was a three-storey building, firemen could not spray water above the first floor. They then managed to scale the nearby buildings to douse the flames.
Threat to residential area
Since the building was situated in a thickly populated area and there were several houses in the adjoining narrow lane, there would have been a major tragedy had the fire spread in the other houses as well. People were outside their houses since morning and were afraid of entering their houses due to this incident. If fire had taken place during day time, then it would have become a tough task for fire brigade to reach the spot as it remains crowded throughout the day.
Firemen irked
Busy in their job, firemen were irked by frequent queries from commuters, passing through the area. One of the firemen said people were not leaving the place despite several requests and kept asking how the fire took place and whether it happened suddenly. He said they had to put a temporary barricading at both the sides to stop vehicles. People were still arguing with the firemen over blocking the traffic.
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