This story is from February 16, 2020

Delhi: Fire breaks out at Connaught Place hotel, three in hospital

A major tragedy was averted at Park Hotel in Connaught Place on Saturday after a fire broke out in the basement around 9am. Though the blaze was doused by the hotel staffers, the smoke reached the above floors through the air-conditioning ducts. Guests panicked and tried to break open windows, and at least a couple of them sustained injuries. Some of them tried to jump out as well.
Delhi: Fire breaks out at Connaught Place hotel, three in hospital
Hotel authorities used their staffers to evacuate the guests from all the floors
NEW DELHI: A major tragedy was averted at Park Hotel in Connaught Place on Saturday after a fire broke out in the basement around 9am. Though the blaze was doused by the hotel staffers, the smoke reached the above floors through the air-conditioning ducts. Guests panicked and tried to break open windows, and at least a couple of them sustained injuries. Some of them tried to jump out as well.
Instead of informing the fire department and the police about the incident, the hotel authorities used their staffers to evacuate the guests from all the floors.
As many as 12 people, including two staffers, who complained about breathlessness were taken to the hospitals nearby. Out of these, nine people were discharged after treatment. Three, including two foreign nationals, had to be admitted to Ganga Ram hospital.
Both the Parliament Street police station and the fire headquarters are within a few hundred metres. But it was only around 12.30pm that the police were informed about the incident by the hospital authorities.
1

Additional DCP, New Delhi, Deepak Yadav said that the hospital had informed the Rajinder Nagar police station after which an inquiry was initiated by Parliament Street station. The fire department was also informed. “Those admitted to the hospital for treatment include Abdi Bashir and Joshim Kvan from Norway and Kundan Rai from Gurgaon,” added Yadav.
A spokesperson from Ganga Ram hospital said that around 11am, 9 patients were brought to casualty out of which seven patients were discharged after giving the first aid. “Two male patients from Norway have been admitted for breathing difficulty due to suspected inhalation injury,” said a senior official.

An FIR has been registered in this regard and the cops are conducting an inquiry to establish the culpability.
DFS chief, Atul Garg, said that five fire tenders were immediately pressed into service but by that time the fire was doused. “We issued a show-cause notice as several lapses were found in the fire safety mechanism of the hotel. A team will send a detailed report to the department concerned at NDMC after an inspection,” added Garg. It was later found that the fire had broken out due to a short circuit in one of the cables of the generator.
In a statement, the hotel spokesperson said, “We are deeply concerned about the incident that took place at the basement. There was a short circuit that led to a minor fire. However, the situation was quickly normalised by our in-house crisis management team. Some of our guests were exposed to the smoke, and as a precautionary measure, they were sent to the hospital for a thorough check-up. Safety has always been our top priority and we assure that all our guests and employees are safe. An investigation has been launched to get to the bottom of the incident so that we can take measures to avoid a similar situation in future.”
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA