Fire in commercial complex in Ahmedabad: 65 rescued

AHMEDABAD: A fire caused by short-circuit in the server room of an accounting firm caused panic at Dev Complex on Saturday afternoon. As the third and fourth floors of the building – located opposite Parimal Garden – house hospitals, several patients had to be evacuated.
It was déjà vu for building occupants and firefighters, as the same building recorded a major fire in 2019, at a children’s hospital.
According to Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES), a call came at 1.30pm about the fire on the third floor. Soon vehicles from multiple fire stations were dispatched for the spot. The firefighting continued till 4pm.
Jayesh Khadiya, chief fire officer, AFES, told TOI that they rescued 65 people from the building. “Due to the smoke, visibility was very low. The majority had climbed on to the terrace instead of using the stairs or elevators. They were rescued using a snorkel. While the fire itself was of low-intensity, there was a lot of flammable material around it on the third floor. Thus there was a lot of smoke,” he said.
The smoke was trapped in the steel-and-glass structure, said Khadia, and spread across the third and fourth floors. “Many window panes were broken down to provide vents for the smoke. In all, 60 officers and personnel and 17 vehicles were used in the operation. The building had a fire NOC and a functional fire fighting system. We had issued a notice to the same building in 2019 after the fire, but we’ll look into the reasons for this fire,” he said.
The smoke caused panic among occupants of the building as patients – about 13 on the fourth floor and 17 to 20 on the third floor – were rescued first. As it was a Saturday, occupancy was relatively less than on weekdays, office workers said.
The children were brought down from a window in the hospital using a turntable ladder. No one reported any injuries, said AFES officials.