300 escape DU exam centre fire

NEW DELHI: Around 300 people, including 260 students appearing for an entrance exam for bachelor’s in elementary education in Delhi University, had a narrow escape after a fire broke out at an examination centre located on Old Palam Road on Sunday morning.
Atul Garg, chief fire officer of Delhi Fire Services, said the incident was reported around 11.30am and six fire tenders were sent to the spot.
It was later found that a short-circuit in the electricity meter board had started the fire, which quickly spread to other parts of the ground floor through a wire.Firemen said the exam had just started and there were 260 candidates present in the building, along with 40 staff members. They were asked to vacate the 300-square-metre premises immediately. The fire was brought under control at 12.30pm, officials said.
A thorough inquiry is still going on as it was found that the firefighting equipment present at the site failed to function properly and the fire-extinguishers were past their expiry dates. The police was also informed. The owner of the building has been asked to join the investigation and the examination is slated to be conducted at a later date.
Delhi has been witnessing numerous cases of fire recently. On Friday afternoon, a major fire broke out at the CGHS housing society office in east Delhi’s Karkadooma. As many as 60 firemen were deployed to contain the flames. Though the building had fire safety measures in place, none of the fire hydrants was in working condition.