The Hindu : New Delhi News : CSIR fire: one serious

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Friday, Jul 24, 2009
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New Delhi

CSIR fire: one serious

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI: Of the three injured in the fire that broke out at Anusandhan Bhavan on Rafi Marg here on Thursday evening, the condition of one is reported to be serious. A cameraman of a TV channel was also injured in the blaze.

Two persons, K.B. Joshi, a section officer in the Finance Department of the CSIR, and Satish Kumar (45), a peon, were declared brought dead.

“Among the injured the condition of Om Prakash (a peon) is critical and he is on ventilator, while Ranvir Singh (a lower division clerk) and cameraperson Pradeep Kumar are stable and out of danger,” said Lohia Hospital Medical Superintendent N.K. Chaturvedi.

The blaze, which reportedly started on the third floor of the building around 7 p.m., spread to the entire floor trapping the employees.

“The fire seems to have started due to an electrical fault and spread fast. Though we raised an alarm, few persons got caught on the third floor. Some ran upstairs in panic. We called the police and informed the fire department immediately. We have lost two of our men,” said CSIR D-G Samir K. Brahmachari, who stood outside with the relatives of the employees from the Council.

“Mr. Joshi, who doesn’t have his office on Rafi Marg, had come here for some work. He wasn’t very familiar with the building. The fire spread fast and though we did raise an alarm we were unable to evacuate everyone in time.”

A CSIR employee who managed to escape the fire unhurt said: “The fire spread rapidly to the fourth floor. Some managed to escape, others got caught in the heavy smoke. After the evacuation, reaching the hospital was a problem because of the heavy traffic and circuitous route.”

At the hospital, stunned and yet to come to terms with the news about his cousin brother Satish Kumar’s death, Bunty said: “We could not believe the news when we got a call from his office staff who said there has been a fire and that my cousin had been rushed to the hospital. When we reached here we were told that he was brought dead.”

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