Fire breaks out at Delhi Transport Department office, no casualty

New Delhi: A fire broke out in an office of the Delhi Transport Department near the Civil Lines metro station on Monday. Several documents, furniture were gutted in the blaze which took one hour to douse, a Delhi Fire Services official said.

According to the fire department, a call about the fire was received at 8.38 am, following which eight fire tenders rushed to the spot initially.

The fire started from the server room on the first floor and later spread to eight other rooms located on the same floor of the building.

The blaze later spread to another room on the second floor of the same building, he said. In total, 26 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, he added.

Atul Garg, Director of Delhi Fire Services, said that over 100 firemen were involved in the operation and after an hour they successfully doused the blaze at Transport Department.

Several essential documents, furniture and electronic equipment were damaged in the fire which was brought under control by 10.20 am, the official said.

The director said no one was injured in the incident as the office was yet to open for work. It is suspected that a short circuit in an electrical appliance in the server room led to the fire.

However, the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the official added. Photos show ground floor of the building engulfed in flames as billows of smoke rose up in the sky.

The incident comes weeks after nine people, including three children, were killed in a fire at a cloth warehouse in northwest Delhi.

Last month, 43 people were killed when they were trapped in a massive blaze at an illegal bag-and-paper factory in North Delhi.