A major fire broke out on Wednesday morning in a residential tower at Gaur Green Avenue in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, engulfing five floors and destroying eight flats. Around 20 residents were rescued from the affected floors, and approximately 10 people sustained minor injuries.
Blaze Originates on Ninth Floor
The fire started around 8:30 am on the ninth floor of Tower D, which houses 110 apartments. Residents reported that they were preparing for work or sending children to school when the flames erupted. The fire quickly spread to the tenth floor and upward, causing panic among residents on floors seven through 13 for nearly 45 minutes.
The ninth and tenth floors were the worst affected. Doors on both floors jammed due to intense heat, trapping residents who screamed for help until firefighters arrived and cut open the doors. The burning facade was visible from NH-9 and the Hindon Elevated Road, drawing attention on social media.
Firefighting Challenges
The fire department received the first distress call at 8:48 am and initially deployed five fire tenders. However, access to Tower D was hindered by a park boundary wall, forcing fire tenders to park at a distance. Small tenders lacked sufficient pressure to reach the affected floors.
Chief Fire Officer Rahul Pai explained that teams laid hose lines through the staircase to the ninth floor, using the building's fire suppression system. Despite initial setbacks, 12 more fire tenders were called, including from Noida, along with two hydraulic platforms. Water from fire tenders was used to replenish the society's fire suppression system.
Pai admitted that water initially did not reach the flames. Within minutes, larger fire engines arrived, but bigger vehicles took longer due to traffic. Firefighters broke more than ten iron and wooden gates across five flats to reach trapped residents.
Rescue Operations
Among those rescued was 80-year-old Mohammad Ayyub, who was on oxygen support and trapped on the tenth floor. Firefighters carried him down the stairs with his oxygen cylinder. On the ninth floor, 60-year-old Kusum Sharma, and on the twelfth floor, 54-year-old Sarika Chaudhary, were trapped after doors jammed. Sharma was hospitalized.
Ruchi Sharma of flat 942 described how a friend warned her about the fire. When she opened her door, she saw a wall of flames. Her father pulled her back, and the family sheltered in the bathroom with water running. They remained trapped for 45 minutes before firefighters cut through the door. Their flat was gutted.
On the tenth floor, residents Ahmad, Pushpendra Sharma, and Sandeep Pandey evacuated immediately, breaking windows to allow water to reach the fire. Three people were injured while manually activating the fire suppression system, including resident Ajay Sharma, security guard Sonu, and fire department constable Randhawa Dhankad.
Investigation and Aftermath
Preliminary investigation points to a short circuit as the likely cause. The fire originated in a 4BHK flat on the ninth floor that had been under renovation for five years, owned by Kamal Paliwal, who lives in another unit in the same building.
The blaze was brought under control in approximately two hours by 70 fire personnel using 17 tenders, water bowsers, and two hydraulic platforms. Cooling operations continued for over an hour. Civil Defence, medical teams, police, SDRF, and administrative officials coordinated the rescue.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident, and District Magistrate Ravinder Kumar Mandar visited the spot. Residents whose flats were damaged were offered temporary accommodation by neighbors, and the Apartment Owners Association (AOA) attended to their needs.
Kunjesh Singh Panwar, president of the AOA, criticized the builder for the park that limited fire tender access. A Gaurs Group spokesperson expressed concern and solidarity but noted that the AOA is responsible for management since the project was handed over a decade ago.
