AHMEDABAD: A panicked teenager jumped from a highrise and suffered injuries after a fire erupted in the building near Kargil petrol pump on SG Road on Sunday. Two other people fell ill after inhaling smoke.
The fire had erupted in the electric duct on the second floor which spread up to the ninth floor of Ganesh Meridian building. As it was a Sunday, most offices in the 12-storeyed commercial building were shut. “This eliminated the need for an intense fire-fighting and rescue mission. The exact origin of the fire could not be ascertained so far,” said officers of the Ahmedabad fire and emergency services (AFES).
A fire officer said, “The fire could have sparked from a half-lit cigarette or bidi thrown in the garbage bin or due to a short circuit.”
“Kishan Meena, 16, who worked as an office boy at one of the firms on the second floor, panicked on seeing the fire, jumped and fractured his leg. He has been admitted to Sola Civil hospital,” said the fire officer.
Nimit Shukla, a lawyer with an office on the sixth floor, fell ill after inhaling the smoke. He was rescued by the AFES personnel.
The fire officer said they had to break several windowpanes to vent out the smoke.
Sixty-four fire brigade personnel and three officers used seven fire tenders to douse the flames in half an hour. The smoke billowing from the building could be seen from Sola flyover where a traffic jam took place after the fire caught the attention of the commuters.
Six shops gutted on Relief Road
As many as six shops were gutted in a fire at a commercial building on Relief Road on Sunday. The fire took place at a garments shop in Aakar commercial centre. The fire spread to the third floor, damaging other shops. Six fire fighters, one hydraulic machine, two ambulances and 68 fire brigade personnel were deployed to the spot. They took 45 minutes to douse the fire. Traffic was halted till the fire was doused completely. No casualty has been reported in the incident.
