Massive fire breaks out at Parliament premises; no casualty
23 March 2015 11:30 PM GMT
“Receiving information at 2.21 pm about the fire, around ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It took about 30 minutes to douse the flames,” said an official of the fire department.
Speaking to Millennium Post, AK Sharma, Delhi Fire Service Chief said: “On initial investigation, it appeared to be a case of negligence. Safety norms including maintenance work were not followed by the concerned staff members.”
“We got a call at 2:21 PM, following which, 10 fire tenders, including two hydraulic platforms under the supervision of a deputy chief fire officer were rushed to the spot and it was brought under control by 2:40 pm. By 2:50 pm, it was completely doused. No one was injured in the incident,” he added.
According to fire officials, thick black smoke was seen billowing above the red sandstone boundary wall of the 88-year-old Parliament complex as the flames raged just a few hundred metres away from the main building which suffered no damage. The probe is on to know the exact cause of the fire.
“The cause of fire was welding which was going on for some maintenance work. Since the Parliament is currently not in session, maintenance work was going on at the AC plant and the sparks caused by the welding led to the fire. There is an AC plant room in the open, its PVC material coating, insulation had caught fire,” Sharma said.
“We have initiated an enquiry into the matter. We will look into all aspects including the cause and circumstances of the fire and take action against those found responsible,” MK Meena, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) said.
Meanwhile, the home ministry has sought a report on the incident. President Pranab Mukherjee also expressed serious concern over the fire and asked for an urgent enquiry into its cause. This was the second case of fire inside the complex in the last couple of days as a minor fire was reported in the AC wiring at gate number 5 on Thursday. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had gone on a month-long break on Friday.
Speaking to Millennium Post, AK Sharma, Delhi Fire Service Chief said: “On initial investigation, it appeared to be a case of negligence. Safety norms including maintenance work were not followed by the concerned staff members.”
“We got a call at 2:21 PM, following which, 10 fire tenders, including two hydraulic platforms under the supervision of a deputy chief fire officer were rushed to the spot and it was brought under control by 2:40 pm. By 2:50 pm, it was completely doused. No one was injured in the incident,” he added.
According to fire officials, thick black smoke was seen billowing above the red sandstone boundary wall of the 88-year-old Parliament complex as the flames raged just a few hundred metres away from the main building which suffered no damage. The probe is on to know the exact cause of the fire.
“The cause of fire was welding which was going on for some maintenance work. Since the Parliament is currently not in session, maintenance work was going on at the AC plant and the sparks caused by the welding led to the fire. There is an AC plant room in the open, its PVC material coating, insulation had caught fire,” Sharma said.
“We have initiated an enquiry into the matter. We will look into all aspects including the cause and circumstances of the fire and take action against those found responsible,” MK Meena, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) said.
Meanwhile, the home ministry has sought a report on the incident. President Pranab Mukherjee also expressed serious concern over the fire and asked for an urgent enquiry into its cause. This was the second case of fire inside the complex in the last couple of days as a minor fire was reported in the AC wiring at gate number 5 on Thursday. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had gone on a month-long break on Friday.
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