Lives snuffed out in smoke chamber; narrow single entry worsened things
Fire department inquiry, short circuit fire, Gulzar Houz blaze, Hyderabad fire rescue, fire safety challenges, Telangana Fire ServicesHyderabad: A preliminary inquiry by the fire department has revealed that a short circuit was the cause of the tragic blaze in Hyderabad's Old City near Charminar, which claimed the lives of 17 members of a single family. Y Nagi Reddy, Director General, Telangana Fire Disaster Response Emergency and Civil Defence stated the cause of death of all the people was smoke inhalation, and nobody had burn injuries.
The fire broke out at the ground plus two storey building which Houzs Sri Krishna Pearls shop and the residential building in Gulzar Houz.
According to the Telangana disaster response and fire services, the initial inquiry showed that the cause of the fire was a short circuit.
Nagi Reddy explained that the Fire Department faced challenges to rescue the trapped persons. He said, 'There was only a single staircase leading to the upper floors, measuring less than one metre in width and situated centrally within the building. This staircase is alarmingly close to the anticipated fire source, resulting in the stairwell being entirely engulfed in smoke and extreme heat. Furthermore, there is no alternative staircase or exit route to access the upper floors. The ground floor access is completely obstructed by bikes, which not only block the exit but also serve as additional fuel for the fire.'
The statement by DG revealed that since fire started in ground floor, smoke and heat quickly reached upper floors blocking the only available access to upper floors. Also, there were no windows or doors facing the available road to use hydraulic platform and quick ventilation.
'To save time and to rescue trapped persons quickly, while firefighting was going on in the ground floor, the firefighters had to drill hole in a wall in the first floor to enter and start rescuing and fire fighting operations in first floor,' said Nagi Reddy.
'Because of timely response and action by Fire Department, spread of fire to adjacent properties was prevented and further loss of lives and property was averted,' said DG.
According to the Fire Department, a total of 12 appliances reached the fire ground and participated in the firefighting and rescue operations.
A total of 11 vehicles, one fire fighting robot, 17 fire officers and 70 personnel were involved in extinguishing the fire and rescuing trapped persons.
It is to note that, Advanced Fire Robot and Bronto Sky Lift Hydraulic Platform were also used in the operations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- New Indian Express
Hebbagodi, Avalahalli, Kumbalagodu now under Bengaluru city cops
BENGALURU: Hebbagodi and Avalahalli police stations from the Bengaluru Rural District Police limits, and Kumbalagodu Police Station from the Ramanagara District Police limits have been included in the Bengaluru city police commissionerate. The decision comes after Dr MA Saleem,DG and IGP, wrote to the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner and Inspector General of Police (Central Range) to give compliance by June 6. 'The above-mentioned three police stations along with the existing staff from police constables to sub-inspectors should be handed over and taken over immediately. The existing staff, from police constables to sub-inspectors will continue to work in the same place on OOD basis from Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts to Bengaluru City Police for one month within which they should be replaced by staff of Bengaluru City Police,' the memo said. Additionally, re-organisation of jurisdiction through inclusion and exclusion of villages to the jurisdiction of Bengaluru City Police and Bengaluru and Ramanagara districts have also been ordered. 'With three police stations being added, Hebbagodi might be included to the South East division, Avalahalli to Whitefield division and Kumbalagodu to the West division. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that the number of divisions will be increased from eight to 11. With three more divisions, the number of police stations will increase and three more IPS officers will be posted as DCPs in the city,' said an officer.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
Coast Guard, Kerala in race to stave off marine disaster
KOCHI: Three capital ships - ICG Samarth, ICG Saksham and ICG Vikram - were deployed off Kochi coast Monday and a pollution response vessel set sail from Mumbai to help stave off the threat of a marine disaster from chemical and oil-laden containers washing ashore from the Liberian ship MSC ELSA 3 that capsized and sank near Thottappally harbour in Alappuzha the previous morning. The accelerated response also involved tug boats to move the 29 cargo containers and assorted debris - thermocol, powder and textiles - spotted floating along the Kollam coast. Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who took stock of the response at a meeting with the DG and secretary of shipping, wrote on X that all efforts were focused on "complete salvage of marine fuel and other hazardous materials" transported in the containers. "The pollution response vessel Sagar Prahari is en route to the site. Regular aerial surveillance is being carried out using Dornier aircraft equipped with the MSS 6000 system to monitor any oil spillage. All four company representatives of MSC have arrived in Kochi," he said. The DG of shipping is probing the circumstances in which the Liberian vessel reported a critical "26-degree list" (tilt) towards starboard side when it was around 38 nautical miles southwest of Kochi. The vessel sank 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally at 7.50am on Sunday. "The logbook should say if there were any collisions or other impediments on the way. When exactly they realised the listing should find mention too," an official said. The mercantile marine dept in Kochi has already issued a pollution liability warning to the vessel owners, M/s MSC, under Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. MSC has appointed TT Salvage for container recovery, oil removal, and environmental clean-up. CM Pinarayi Vijayan convened another emergency meeting Monday to review the situation, after which his office outlined the series of steps aimed at safeguarding the coastal population, averting an environmental crisis, and coordinating response mechanisms involving state and national agencies.
India Gazette
24-05-2025
- India Gazette
Delhi: Fire breaks out at factory in Bawana's DSIDC area; no casualties
ANI 24 May 2025, 09:03 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], May 24 (ANI): A massive fire broke out at a factory in Sector 2 of the DSIDC Industrial Area in Bawana on Saturday. No casualties have been reported in the incident. 17 fire tenders were sent, and no injuries have been reported, said Fire Department while adding that building collapsed due to some blasts. Further details are awaited. Earlier, a major fire broke out at a private school in Delhi's Nirman Vihar Colony, under the Preet Vihar Police Station area in the late hours of Tuesday. According to officials, one car parked near the school was charred by the fire. Speaking to ANI, Fire Officer Firoz Khan said five fire tenders were at the spot to douse the fire, and no casualties have been reported. 'We received a call at 8.55 pm. Five fire tenders reached the spot and we doused the fire. There was a fire at the school, an adjacent building, and a nearby car,' he said. No casualties were reported in the incident. (ANI)
