A massive fire broke out in a footwear showroom in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area on Saturday morning, leading to major traffic jams near the area.

According to a Delhi Fire Services official, no casualty has been reported in the incident.  The call regarding the fire at Bata shoe showroom was received at 11.17 am on Saturday, he said.

Initially, six fire tenders were deployed to control the blaze but now 12 fire engines are working on the spot. According to firefighters, it will take more time to douse the blaze as they have been unable to enter the first floor of the building. So far, 12 fire engines are working on the spot.

“The basement and the first of the building is engulfed in flames. Our teams are working to douse the fire completely, but it will take more time as firefighters are unable to enter the first floor,” a DFS officer said.

Teams have to climb on the roof and are trying to see how they can enter the first floor, he said.  “The door of the first floor is made of iron and there is no other entry or exit point, making the firefighting operation more challenging,” the officer said.

The area has been cordoned off as the firefighting operations is still ongoing.  “We are just following protocol in case of the building collapses. We have cordoned off the area so that no one can be injured,” the DFS official said, adding that firefighters are also making sure that the blaze doesn’t spread to other buildings.

Further, commuters also experienced traffic snarls in the area due to the ongoing operations by the firefighters.  A long stretch of traffic jams for three kilometres was seen near the area, a commuter said.

A senior police officer said that as they got to know about the fire, teams from various police stations were rushed to the spot.

“Police teams are working with the firefighters. Our teams are trying to maintain law and order in the area. Traffic police have diverted the vehicles so that the fire engines can reach the spot,” the police officer said.