NOIDA: A fire broke out in a three-storey office building in Noida’s Sector 18 market on Wednesday afternoon. With the flames spreading quickly, 10 people, including three women, were trapped as the blaze blocked exit routes. Firemen broke open the glass windows of the building and rescued them using a hydraulic crane. The fire broke out in the Indiabulls Housing Finance office located on the second floor of the building in K block of the commercial hub and soon spread to the third floor, officials said. The building houses 30-40 offices. “We received a call about the fire around 2.30pm. Two fire tenders were initially pressed into service and later two more were sent to the spot. From the Indiabulls Housing Finance office, the fire spread to the adjacent shop. Later it spread to the third floor,” said Arun Kumar Singh, chief fire officer of Gautam Budh Nagar. Soon, the firemen got the entire building evacuated. The exit points of the building had been blocked due to the fire and the ensuing smoke because of which some 10 people had been trapped inside. “As many as 10 employees working in the offices located on the second and third floors had been trapped inside. Our team managed to rescue them using a hydraulic crane and by breaking the glass windows of the building. The fire station officer (FSO) personally led the rescue operations,” Singh said. FSO Narayan Singh had to be rushed to District Hospital in Sector 30 after he experienced difficulty in breathing. “During the rescue operation, the FSO inhaled a lot of smoke because of which he had breathing difficulties. Doctors said that his condition is stable. Our team managed to douse the fire by 4.30pm and no casualties were reported,” the CFO said. According to police, the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. “Prima facie it appears that the fire was due to an electrical short-circuit,” a police officer said. Speaking to TOI, Basant, who works in one of the offices on the second floor, said that he and his two colleagues got out of the building as soon as they noticed smoke coming out of the Indiabulls office. “One of the guards working in our office got trapped inside the building but the firemen managed to get him out safely,” he said. Meanwhile, SK Jain, president of the Sector 18 market association, said, “All the traders in the market are urged to get their fire fighting equipment thoroughly checked and obtain the mandatory ‘no-objection certificate’ so that such incidents can be prevented.”
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/noida-10-trapped-in-office-building-blaze-rescued-via-windows/articleshow/94062512.cms