NEW DELHI: Five people, including two women, were rescued after a fire broke out in a four-storey building in west Delhi’s Janakpuri area on Thursday, officials said. They were hospitalised as they complained of breathlessness.
A firefighter also sustained a minor injury during the rescue operation, they said. Five fire tenders were pressed into service. The fire, which broke out in an electric meter, was brought under control in a short time, the officials said.
A call was received at 11:13 am that a fire had broken out in an office building and some people were trapped inside, said Atul Garg, Director of Delhi Fire Services. A firefighter, Raj Singh, sustained an injury on his hand during the operation. He is stable, he said.
There is an Axis Bank ATM on the building’s ground floor, the bank’s office on the first floor, and offices of an insurance company on the second and third floors, according to police. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said the fire broke out in an electric meter fitted near a staircase. Though the fire did not spread, smoke engulfed the entire building. All those on the first and second floors were moved to the third floor.
The fire was extinguished by the fire tenders. During the operation to rescue those trapped inside, the windowpanes of the building were broken to let out the smoke, he said.