20190529 Fire-trap Hussainganj: 25 escape blaze at hotel, two rooms gutted
India May 29 2019 “Building” “Other bldg.”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire-trap Hussainganj: 25 escape blaze at hotel, two rooms gutted
Updated: 2019–05–31
LUCKNOW: Around 25 people, including 16 guests, had a narrow escape when a fire broke out at a prominent hotel in congested Hussainganj late on Wednesday night in a grim reminder to a similar accident in the same area in March.
Two rooms, said to be unoccupied at the time, were completely gutted in Wednesday’s blaze.
This is the third hotel fire in the city in a year and like the previous two, Hotel Heritage on AP Sen Road was severely lacking in safety measures even though its owners claim to have the requisite NOC.
Employees said they noticed thick smoke around 11.30pm. The fire was triggered by a possible short circuit in Room 205 and flames quickly engulfed adjoining Room 206, they said. “The hotel has 19 rooms. Besides 16 guests, nine members of staff were present when the fire broke out. We alerted police and the fire brigade. All guests were evacuated along with their luggage,” said an employee.
Chief fire officer (CFO) Vijay Kumar Singh said four fire tenders battled the blaze for two hours to bring it under control. He observed that thatched roofs, woodwork on walls and jute decorations, which were all part of the heritage look, had turned the hotel into a tinderbox.
“Fire safety measures are grossly inadequate. There are smoke alarms, but no water sprinklers inside rooms. The premises have a fire hydrant, hoses and tank, but there was no water supply at the time of the incident,” Singh said, adding that the cause was in all likelihood a short circuit, but a probe would confirm the same.
Hotel manager Santosh Kumar denied the charges. “We have all mandatory measures and certificates. No one was injured. Guests were accommodated in safe areas,” he said.
Executive engineer of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) Indu Shekhar Singh said the building map of Hotel Heritage was approved by LDA. “ During inspection in October 2018, the hotel was found to be following all fire safety measures,” he said, but added that he was not sure if the safety mechanism was up and running at present.
Web Source: The times of india