CP highrise floors gutted, trapped security guard dies

A K Sharma, Chief Fire Officer, said: "30 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and three hydraulic cranes were used to douse the inferno. During the operation, one crane collapsed due to an earth cave-in. But this happened after the crane had been used for one and a half hours."

Security guard Ramesh said they had initially tried to douse the flames. "The fire started at 5.45 am. Initially, we thought we could douse it ourselves. But it spread and a PCR call was made," he said.

Fire chief Sharma said renovation material lying in the corridors hampered rescue efforts. The electricity supply to the building continued despite the fire, affecting the fire-fighting. "The NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) was asked to cut off the electricity supply, but it took almost an hour. Later, we found that a generator was running and that had to be shut down. We lost about an hour and half," he said.

The Himalaya House has an NOC from the Fire department, Sharma said. "But they were not working. We are investigating why they weren't working."

NDMC, in a statement, said: "We received a call at 6.20 am about the fire. Personnel from the Electricity department of the NDMC were rushed to Himalaya House, who disconnected the electricity supply of the entire building within 10 minutes — around 6.30 am. However, the electricity supply in the building continued for some time due to automatic private diesel generator sets."

The NDMC provided 15 firemen and two vehicles (one water tender vehicle and one emergency response vehicle) to assist the Fire-Fighting operation.

Himalaya House

Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Connaught Place

11 floors

144 offices

Underground parking

Mainly commercial establishments

Banks on the first two floors

4 general elevators

1 service elevator

... contd.

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