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Indian Express
15-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Massive fire at Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce in Delhi's Pitampura
A short circuit in the server of the library at Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce in Delhi's Pitampura led to a massive fire Thursday morning, which spread to three floors, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said. DFS officials said no students or faculty were injured as there wasn't much crowd inside the library in the early hours of the day. According to DFS, the fire started at around 8.55 am on the fourth floor of the college – under Delhi University (DU) – with the initial flames restricted to the first floor. However, DFS chief Atul Garg said the fire then quickly spread to the second and third floors, leading to the burning of books in the library. As many as 11 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames. STORY | Fire breaks out in library of Delhi's Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce READ: VIDEO: (Source: Third Party) — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2025 'By 9.40 am, we brought the fire under control. It took time as the strong winds ignited the fire further on multiple floors. A short circuit seems to be the initial reason for the fire. The police will investigate further,' a DFS official said. The video of the fire showed massive flames coming out of the shattered window panes of the red college building. The sound of windows breaking could also be heard in the video. According to DFS officials, the library is still filled with plumes of smoke, and a correct assessment of losses would only be made after cooling operations are concluded. Last week, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta talked about bolstering the ranks of the Delhi Fire Services with state-of-the-art technologies such as Quick Response Vehicles (QRVs) and Aerial Water Tower (AWT) vehicles, and announced a budget of Rs. 504 crore for it. The procurement of the equipment is expected to make the response time in similar incidents quicker and efficient.
Indian Express
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Engines tailored for narrow lanes, ladders for high-rise rescues, fire-fighting robots: Delhi CM plans to modernise fire safety infra
During her visit to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) headquarters at Connaught Place on Friday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced a sweeping modernisation plan aimed at upgrading the city's fire safety infrastructure. The government, in its March Budget, had allocated Rs 504 crore to the DFS. Of this, Rs 110 crore will be used to procure state-of-the-art equipment, including 100 compact fire engines tailored for Delhi 's narrow lanes, Gupta said. 'These mini fire trucks will be crucial in reaching narrow lanes and densely populated areas quickly,' said Home Minister Ashish Sood, who accompanied Gupta. Narrow lanes have been one of the biggest challenges for the DFS to reach accident spots on time. The Budget includes plans to deploy advanced fire-fighting tools such as Aerial Water Tower (AWT) vehicles, 32-m turntable ladders for high-rise rescues, mini firefighting robots capable of operating in temperatures up to 500°C, and 24 new quick response vehicles (QRVs). These facilities are aimed at boosting emergency response capabilities while ensuring the safety of firefighters. The plan will also include the integration of a computer-aided dispatch system into the DFS control room, which will enable real-time tracking of all fire trucks. Further, surveillance cameras will be installed in each fire vehicle, and control room personnel will receive technical training to handle upgraded systems efficiently. Acknowledging the deteriorating state of the DFS headquarters, Gupta announced the construction of a new, modern facility, for which a budget has already been approved. She outlined a roadmap, including short-term initiatives such as staff recruitment and holding public awareness campaigns, and long-term plans like the development of a GIS-based centralised management portal and international collaborations to train firefighters. Highlighting the scale and workload of DFS, Gupta said, 'Today, DFS has 86 fire stations and over 3,000 dedicated firefighters who face more than 36,000 emergency situations annually. This number is the highest compared to any other metropolitan city in the country… We will expand the number of fire stations and establish 100 new fire posts, especially in narrow lanes…' She added that the number of firefighters will be increased to effectively respond to emergencies. 'It is our commitment that there will be no shortage of equipment for DSF,' Gupta said.
