A part of a flat in Group Housing-7 of Crossings Republik caught fire after a short circuit in the geyser on Monday afternoon. The exterior side of a wall of the flat has also been charred by the fire. However, no one was harmed in the incident.
After short circuit at around 1.30 pm, the wall of the flat caught fire. An air conditioner was also completely damaged in the fire.
Initially, there were sparks in the geyser which turned into flames. The flames engulfed scraps which were stored in the extended part of the flat situated on the ground floor of Tower B.
The residents spotted the fire and alerted the maintenance staffs and security guards of the society. The guards and maintenance staffs doused the flames through fire extinguishers and the sprinkling of water.
“The geyser was left switched on for a long period of time. It sparked the fire in the flat,” said Rohit Chaudhary, president of Apartment Owners Association (AOA) of GH-7.
“However, the incident could have turned fatal if the guards and the staffs did not reach on time,” he added.
When asked why water sprinkler did not work at the time, Chaudhary said that fire caught in the extended part of the flat (balcony) where firefighting tools are not installed.
Residents of the flat said that they used the area as a storeroom. “We stored the useless stuff there,” they said.
Since the last three years, residents have repeatedly approached the authorities, requesting them to provide land for an independent fire station in Crossings Republik. But, there has been no headway in this regard.
Currently, the matter is stuck between district administration, civic agencies and the developer, Crossings Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (CIPL). The residents say the CIPL had marketed flats with a promise of a fire station and a hospital, but none were delivered.
