Fire in high-rise commercial tower, over 150 evacuated in Ahmedabad

Fire broke out on Monday morning in a high-rise commercial tower on the city’s outskirts following which nearly 150 people were evacuated from the premises, officials said.

No injury or casualty was reported in the mishap.

The fire was reported in ‘Signature-1’, an 11-storey commercial building located at Makarba village near S G Highway, at around 11.30 AM. Upon getting the call, 10 fire tenders were sent to the spot, city fire control room officials said.

According to Chief Fire Officer M F Dastur, it was smoke, and not the fire, which caused the trouble.

“Primary assessment revealed that some cables caught fire in the duct, which runs through the building from first floor till the 11th floor. Though the fire was minor and contained immediately, the smoke quickly engulfed each floor of the tower,” said Dastur, who was also on the spot.

After dousing the blaze, the firemen broke window panes on the entire staircase as well as corridors on each floor to let out the smoke, which spread all over the building due to lack of proper ventilation, he said.

“Around 200 people were inside the building when the fire started. We broke window panes on each floor to remove smoke and then evacuated around 150 people. We asked some people to remain inside their offices till the situation improves,” Dastur said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.