Close shave for family as building catches fire

Ludhiana: Five members of a family, including three children, had a narrow escape after a fire broke out in their two-storey building in Basant Vihar on Noorwala Road on Tuesday morning.
The building owner, Pankaj Sehgal, said, “I woke up around 4.30am as I was feeling uneasy. On noticing the building on fire, I roused my wife and three children from sleep. The ground and the first floors, from where I run my garment factory, Keshav Yarns, were in flames. The fire was yet to reach the second floor, where we live.”
As the blaze had engulfed the stairs, too, the Sehgals could not exit the building. “My son and daughter escaped the building through the neighbour’ terrace. But when we tried to, smoke filled the area and my wife collapsed,” he added.
After bringing his wife to consciousness, Pankaj, along with her and his son, went to the opposite side and jumped on to their neighbour’s balcony.
“A short circuit in electricity meter near the factory gate caused the fire. It has destroyed everything in the unit,” Pankaj said.
Sub-fire officer Aatish Rai said, “We received a call around 5am and brought the situation under control within an hour. It was not a major blaze and one fire tender was pressed into service. But thick, black smoke had filled the building and impeded the operation.”