It was a tense start to Monday for Delhi when a blaze was reported at ITO. The Fire Service had to send eight units to a ministry building not far from the PWD headquarters. They are on it now and, as of this writing, there have been no casualties.
Where it unfolded and initial alerts
According to the Delhi Fire Service, you can trace the fire back to the second floor of the SPA building in ITO. They put it down to a 9:37 AM call they took after some smoke was seen coming from the building.
Some earlier word had it as a Ministry of Engineering building by the PWD office. Either way, it’s the same well-known patch of central Delhi that was in the spotlight to begin the week.
Response on the ground
The department is on the job to contain it. They put eight fire tenders on the scene to make quick work of the second-floor fire.
They were able to move fast because of an early heads-up. The service says they were made aware of the trouble at 9:37 am. Here is the line from officials:
– Call came in at 9:37 am
– Second floor of the SPA ITO building
– Eight fire tenders have been deployed
– No injuries to report
– Work is in progress
Why it matters to Delhiites
You can’t miss the location. It’s right up against the PWD office and on the grounds of the School of Planning and Architecture, so it’s a familiar one for most in the city.
If you are looking for some good news in the headlines, you have it: no one has been injured and the fire tenders are there. That usually makes for a less disruptive affair in the city.
What to expect next
The plan is to put the fire out and make sure the building is in order. We should have more on it once they are done and have had a good look around. In the meantime, the message is to be patient with the crews.
Separate overnight blaze in Mukherjee Nagar
Then there was the matter of a four-storey building in Mukherjee Nagar that saw a fire late Sunday night. The fire department was on it in short order and got everyone out without a problem, we’re told.
One thing these back-to-back incidents show is how busy the department has been. While the ITO crew is at it, the response in Mukherjee Nagar is proof they have been running at full capacity all night.
Official word so far
The Delhi Fire Service doesn’t mince words about the ITO case. A fire on the second floor of the SPA building, they say. Some smoke was spotted and a 9:37 AM call followed.
So they have eight fire tenders on the ground and are working on it. It’s consistent with what we’ve heard: they were tipped off at 9:37 and have since made a show of force on site.
Bottom line: they moved in quickly, are handling it, and there are no injuries. We’ll have more to say when the area is secured and the fire is a thing of the past.
