Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: Five people, including three women, and two pet dogs were rescued after a fire broke out in a five-storey residential building in west Delhi’s Chander Vihar area on Friday.According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS), a call about the blaze was received at 11.32 am from B-16, Gali No. 3, near SK Vidyalaya. Three water tenders — under the supervision of station officer Manoj Tyagi — were initially rushed to the spot. At 11.55 am, additional assistance was sought, following which a senior officer and more firefighting units, including another water tender and a water bowser, were deployed.Residents trapped on the upper floors were instructed to move towards balconies where the intensity of the fire was lower. Firefighters carried out rescue operations from multiple levels, evacuating two individuals from the third floor, one from the second floor and two from the fifth floor. The two pet dogs were also safely rescued from the third and fifth floors using the staircase after the flames were brought under control. No injuries were reported.“The rescue operation was challenging as the building is located in a narrow lane, which prevented the fire tenders from reaching the site directly. The vehicles had to be stationed nearly 150 metres away, and long hoses were used to control the flames,” a senior fire official said.Fire officials said the blaze may have originated from four scooters parked on the ground floor, where a motor pump and electricity meters were also situated near the staircase. The fire quickly spread upwards through the staircase, fuelled by combustible items such as shoe racks, refrigerators and other household goods stored in the common staircase areas and adjacent balconies.A probe is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the fire, officials added.In a separate incident on Friday, a truck caught fire on a flyover near the Commonwealth Games Village close to Akshardham. DFS said it received a call at 4.43 pm, after which two fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was doused, and no injuries or casualties were reported.
