Kirti Ngr: Still highly inflammable

NEW DELHI: The smoke has not stopped billowing out of 1/65, WHS Kirti Nagar, where a fire broke out on Monday gutting a furniture showroom and a cardboard manufacturing unit. This is the second major fire in the area in the last two months. In the last fire, nine people lost their lives. But life is as usual in the timber market.
A close look at the turn of events and the conditions surrounding it, however, point to the disasters waiting to happen in the area.As per official sources, a furniture showroom, a cardboard factory and a godown were operating from the gutted building. While the showroom occupied the ground floor and a part of first floor, the factory and godown occupied the rear end of the first floor and the second floor.
"It appears a boiler being used in the factory developed a snag and caused the fire. Since the second floor was being used for storing cardboard, the whole place just lit up like a tinderbox. Also the building had no fire exits," said Delhi Fire Service chief R C Sharma.
"The area was earmarked for tinder warehouses. But later factory units started coming up. They never came to us for clearances," said Sharma, adding that fire safety norms were virtually non-existent in the market. "They are supposed to have water-sprinklers in the godowns," he added. Local traders, however, believe that a few rusty fire extinguishers and a pail of sand should suffice.
After the December 31 fire, however, the local machinery has woken up to the problem and has asked all the traders to apply for licences. "We are conducting a door-to-door survey in the area. Anybody flouting norms will be pulled up," said deputy commissioner (west) S C Kohli.