Musuem blaze: Fire safety mechanism was 'not functioning'
New Delhi, Apr 26: The fire safety mechanism of the National Museum of Natural History in FICCI building was "not functioning" which could have controlled the fire that broke out in the wee hours of Tuesday, fire service officials said.
"The fire safety systems were there but they were not functioning at the time when we tried to operate them. Had they been working, the fire would have been curtailed at the earliest time," Deputy Fire Chief Rajesh Panwar said.
Massive fire engulfs National Museum of Natural History
"Had the fire system been working it would be easier to control the fire at the earliest time because we had to depend on our resources only," he said. The flames have been completely doused and other buildings in FICCI auditorium are safe.
WATCH: Fire which broke out at Delhi's Natural History Museum at around 2 am today morning (earlier visuals)https://t.co/ygh6K86G4Y
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 26, 2016
Only the National Museum of Natural History building has been damaged, the official said.
Natural History Museum(Delhi) fire: Smoke and flames still billowing out from a section of the building's top floor pic.twitter.com/PmmlXgbHrc
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 26, 2016
Fire which broke out at Delhi's Natural History Museum near FICCI auditorium(earlier visuals),now under control pic.twitter.com/zRxff7AbuC
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 26, 2016
The fire which broke out on the top floor of the museum at around 1.45 AM, located in FICCI Building at Mandi House, where some repair work was underway and quickly spread to lower floors of the building, damaging the specimens kept there.
As many as 35 fire tenders were pressed into service. It took firefighters more than four hours to douse the blaze after which a cooling operation was launched which lasted for another few hours, a fire official said.
Six fire officials were rushed to hospital after they inhaled excessive smoke. Their condition is said to be stable, officials said.
UPDATE: Fire at Delhi's Natural History Museum now under control. pic.twitter.com/qY5tTPU56q
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 26, 2016
The industry body FICCI said the cause of the fire is being investigated and thanked the Delhi Fire Service for its quick response in bringing the situation under control. "Luckily, no one was present inside the building when the incident occurred.
I feel very sad and anguished. Hope this is wake up call for all our buildings: Jairam Ramesh, Frmr Environment Min. pic.twitter.com/OLF1cgPNy9
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 26, 2016
Federation house, which is the FICCI office building, and FICCI auditorium were not affected by the incident" FICCI said in a statement. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, a senior police official said.
PTI