Two fires within hours: Woman hurt in Mukherjee Nagar and minor fire reported at architecture school

Two separate fire incidents were reported in Delhi within hours of each other, with a blaze at a paying guest accommodation building in northwest Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar area late Sunday night leaving one woman student injured, and a minor fire breaking out at the School of Planning and Architecture campus in central Delhi on Monday morning, though no injuries or property damage were reported in the second incident.

In the first incident, the Delhi Fire Service received a call at 10:29 pm on Sunday about a fire at a ground-plus-three-storey building in Indira Vihar, Mukherjee Nagar. Five fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot. The fire began on the ground floor, where electrical items were stored, and spread rapidly, engulfing portions of the building up to the second floor before being brought under control at 12:15 am. Preliminary information suggests a short circuit as the possible cause.

All occupants of the building were evacuated in time. A woman student sustained minor injuries during the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The building owner, Surender Pal, 65, who lives on the first floor, was among those safely evacuated. Furniture and other household items were damaged in the fire.

Police said they rushed to the spot soon after receiving information and found the building engulfed in smoke. Prompt action was taken to evacuate all occupants before firefighters doused the blaze.

The second fire broke out on Monday morning at the School of Planning and Architecture campus on Vikas Marg in the ITO area of central Delhi. The Delhi Fire Service received a call at 9.37 am, following which eight fire tenders were dispatched to the location. The flames were brought under control within an hour.

The incident initially caused some confusion when the DFS described the fire as having broken out on the second floor of a Ministry of Education office. The Ministry of Education subsequently clarified that its offices are located at Kartavya Bhavan-2 on Dr Rajendra Prasad Road and have no connection to the fire. The blaze, the ministry confirmed, occurred at the SPA campus at Indraprastha Estate, Vikas Marg, which is a separate location.

Police said a call was received at the IP Estate police station from SPA employee Saurabh Sharma, who reported smoke and flames coming from faculty rooms in the administrative block on the second floor of the building.

Apart from fire tenders, three ambulances, two PCR vans, traffic police personnel, and local police teams were deployed at the site as a precautionary measure.

The Ministry of Education described the fire as minor in nature and said it was brought under control quickly. “No loss of life or property has been reported,” the ministry said in a statement.

A police officer confirmed that no active fire remained in the building and that the situation was fully under control. Authorities have launched an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the fire at the SPA campus.

The two incidents come amid a period of heightened concern about fire safety in Delhi, following a series of building fires across the Capital in recent weeks.