NEW DELHI: The major fire that broke out at the Times of India building in central Delhi's ITO was doused today, almost 24 hours after it started even as cooling operations are still on.
Senior officials of Delhi Fire Services said that a portion of the second floor has also collapsed and the building has developed a few cracks.
The flames were reported at around 4.45 PM yesterday and 10 firetenders were rushed to the spot. Later, 22 more tenders were deployed to douse the blaze.
The fire was initially brought under control around 11.30 PM yesterday but it started again and even spread to the second floor, said an officer from Delhi Fire Services.
The fire was extinguished by 5 PM today and cooling operations are underway and are likely to continue for another five-six hours, he said.
A senior police officer had said the fire had started in the server room on the first floor of the five-storey building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. The people present there had managed to get out in time.
"It is suspected that there was some problem in the cooling system and extra heat was generated. It is suspected that it was the trigger for the fire that spread quickly through the first floor," he added.
A major fire had engulfed parts of the building's top floor in May last year.