<p>A fire broke out on the third and fourth floors of Oriental Bank of Commerce’s Connaught Place branch on Tuesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Delhi Fire Services rushed 12 fire tenders to Harsha Bhawan commercial complex in E-Block.<br /><br />They were kept on the toes due to another fire at AIIMS, but no injury or serious damage to property was reported.<br /><br />According to DFS Director A K Sharma, the fire broke out around 11.40 am.An initial probe has revealed that the fire started at the generator room of the building where an air-conditioning plant is kept.<br /><br />“The smoke from the fire indicated that it probably started from the burning of the electrical wiring. It may have been due to a short-circuit in the AC plant,” Sharma said, adding it took them around 30 minutes to douse the flames.<br /><br />Around 100 people, including employees and customers of the bank, managed to get out of the building before the fire spread.<br /><br />Several people were also evacuated with the help of a hydraulic crane from the windows and the terrace.<br /><br />A bank official said important documents were not damaged in the fire. Police also had to block traffic on parts of CP for unobstructed entry of the fire engines.<br /><br />“It was a successful operation as there was no loss of life or injury to anyone. We are currently trying to ascertain the value of goods lost in the fire,” Sharma added.<br /><br />A police officer added that firefighting efforts were hampered due to lack of fire safety at the building.<br /><br />“We have been told that many of the sprinklers were not working and that there was no smoke management system,” the officer said.<br /><br />Police said an action may be taken after they receive the fire department’s report and OBC completes its internal review.<br /><br />A case of endangering life or personal safety of others under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code may be filed.</p>
<p>A fire broke out on the third and fourth floors of Oriental Bank of Commerce’s Connaught Place branch on Tuesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Delhi Fire Services rushed 12 fire tenders to Harsha Bhawan commercial complex in E-Block.<br /><br />They were kept on the toes due to another fire at AIIMS, but no injury or serious damage to property was reported.<br /><br />According to DFS Director A K Sharma, the fire broke out around 11.40 am.An initial probe has revealed that the fire started at the generator room of the building where an air-conditioning plant is kept.<br /><br />“The smoke from the fire indicated that it probably started from the burning of the electrical wiring. It may have been due to a short-circuit in the AC plant,” Sharma said, adding it took them around 30 minutes to douse the flames.<br /><br />Around 100 people, including employees and customers of the bank, managed to get out of the building before the fire spread.<br /><br />Several people were also evacuated with the help of a hydraulic crane from the windows and the terrace.<br /><br />A bank official said important documents were not damaged in the fire. Police also had to block traffic on parts of CP for unobstructed entry of the fire engines.<br /><br />“It was a successful operation as there was no loss of life or injury to anyone. We are currently trying to ascertain the value of goods lost in the fire,” Sharma added.<br /><br />A police officer added that firefighting efforts were hampered due to lack of fire safety at the building.<br /><br />“We have been told that many of the sprinklers were not working and that there was no smoke management system,” the officer said.<br /><br />Police said an action may be taken after they receive the fire department’s report and OBC completes its internal review.<br /><br />A case of endangering life or personal safety of others under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code may be filed.</p>
