Noida: Months after a massive fire broke out in Noida’s Sector 18 Krishna Apra Plaza — forcing five people to jump from the third or fourth floor — another fire erupted early Monday , causing damage at its fifth floor godown. Fire officials said no casualties were reported as all nearby shops were shut.
“The fire control room was informed about the fire around 3.20am, and 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control,” said Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, chief fire officer (CFO), Gautam Budh Nagar.
Chaubey added, “It was found that a short circuit had occurred at a ground-floor restaurant, which reached the fifth floor after the nearby shaft made for electrical wiring caught fire. The godown on the fifth floor was gutted.”
However, firefighters managed to douse the fire before it could spread across the entire floor of the 8-storey building, officials said.
KC Sharma, a member of the Occupants Association of Krishna Apra Plaza, said: “I received a call from the security in-charge around 3am that a fire had broken out in the building. We immediately alerted the fire control room.”
Sharma added: “Maintenance and fire safety management work has been ongoing in the building since April, so the fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC) was yet to be obtained. The building is stuck in a dispute with the builder; which is delaying safety measures and causing losses to shopkeepers.”
CFO Chaubey added, “The NOC process of the building is yet to start, and strict action will be taken this time for continued lapses.”
Notably, on April 1, a blaze erupted in the same building— a hub of business offices and food outlets — at 11.27am when an AC unit on the first-floor suddenly exploded. While more than 70 people rushed to the terrace to escape, and many others used the building’s designated exits, five people — three men and one woman — jumped from the upper floors in panic. One of the victims died after 19 days of hospitalisation.
Following the April fire, work in the building resumed normally after one-and-a-half months once the pending electricity bill was paid. The fire department had earlier cut off electricity supply due to non-payment.