A major fire broke out at the Times of India building in central Delhi’s Income Tax Office (ITO) area on Wednesday afternoon. To douse the fire, 25 fire tenders were pressed into service. However, there was no report of any casualty.
The fire started at around 2.15 pm on the fourth floor. Fire officers suspect a short circuit could be the reason. They added that two persons trapped in the building were rescued by the firefighters, who took nearly 90 minutes to control the blaze. Nearly 500 employees and others present in the building were evacuated.
“There was no report of casualty as the building was evacuated in time,” the officer said.
Initially, five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after the fire service got a report of plumes of smoke coming out of the building, a senior fire official said adding that the fire broke out in a room on the rear side of the building.
The number of fire tenders was later increased to 25, said a Fire Service official, adding that the blaze was brought under control by 4 pm and cooling operations were on.
“The fire alarm went off around 2 pm and the people vacated the building. It is only after we came out of the building and saw all the smoke and flames, we realised the gravity of the situation,” said a youth working on the third floor.