Firemen find way to douse blaze despite narrow lanes

Nagpur: The biggest challenge for firefighters arriving at the fire at Leela House, a four-storey building housing Ahuja Pen Mart, were the small lanes of Loha Oli, Itwari. The narrow lanes coupled with traffic congestion made it difficult for the five fire tenders to approach the building. This forced the staff from Ganjipeeth and Lakadganj fire stations to use approximately 700 running feet of pipe to deliver water to douse the fire, said officiating chief fire officer BP Chandankhede. Overcoming the difficulties, the fire brigade personnel controlled the flames and prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings. They used water hoses and fire extinguishers to douse the flames, while also ensuring that all residents of the building were safely evacuated. Sanjay Dharmik, an eyewitness, said he heard the commotion around 3.30pm and saw flames engulfing the building, and informed the authorities. The Tehsil police and NMC fire department arrived and cordoned off the area. “Thanks to the quick response of the fire department, the ground floor, first floor, and second floor were saved,” said local resident Amar Nagpal. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but preliminary reports suggest it may have been a short circuit. The estimated damage is around ₹10 lakh. The commercial building lacked mandatory firefighting arrangements. We also published the following articles recently