20200219 Ludhiana: Major fire incident averted after cracker lands in an old house
India Feb 19 2020 “Building” “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Ludhiana: Major fire incident averted after cracker lands in an old house
Updated: 2020–02–21
LUDHIANA: A major tragedy was averted when a fire broke out in an old house near Sangalanwala Shivala temple late on Wednesday after the accidental bursting of a cracker. The incident happened when a shobha yatra to mark Shivaratri celebrations was on its last leg and somebody burst some crackers, of which one landed in the house. The people of the area tried calling the fire brigade but could not contact it. Following this, somebody went to the central fire station personally for calling the team of firefighters for controlling the fire.
The incident happened at 1am in the old house, which was locked from outside. The fire brigade reached the site and they broke open the locks for controlling the situation. However, the nearby people told the fire brigade that the building was every old and had also been declared unsafe and for this reason it had been remained locked for a long time.
The fire brigade men then decided not to enter the building immediately and tried to control the flames from outside. When the house did not collapse even after use of water cannon at extreme pressure, the firemen then entered the building. The fire was on the first floor of the house and the roof collapsed because it was quite old and was not a concrete one. The fire had engulfed some old wood and some packing material kept inside the house.
Fire station officer S N Sharma, however, said there was some problem with fire station phone number 101, especially when somebody tries to make a call by a mobile phone. He said they had given complaints several times but the problem was not rectified completely. He said the fire brigade men managed to control the situation in almost an hour with the help of three fire tenders.
Meanwhile, an area resident requested the fire officials to get this building demolished by asking the civic body officials to do so, as it could lead to some major tragedy someday. The fire officials asked the area residents to contact the building branch officials at their level and request for the demolition of the house. Another resident said people who had come to be part of the shobha yatra should not burst crackers. He said instead of bursting of the crackers they should have welcomed the shobha yatra with flowers.
Web Source: The times of India