Fire alarms could have averted container depot fire: Exporters

NEW DELHI - The fire which damaged goods worth around Rs.100 crore at a container depot at Tughlakabad Saturday could have been averted if the authorities had taken safety precautions like installing fire alarms, said exporters Sunday.

The exporters are mourning, the damage to goods can reach Rs.100 crore, there should have been equipment like fire alarms to avert such a disaster, said S.P. Agarwal, president, Delhi Exporters Association.

The fire which started at 5 a.m. Saturday turned into a raging inferno by the time fire fighters reached the spot at 6 a.m.

I was informed that there was no in-built fire fighting system installed at the inland container depot (ICD), said Raj Kumar Malhotra, chairman of the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

Malholtra alleged that the fire could have been sparked by an electrical short-circuit because of faulty wiring at the ICD.

The fact that the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) was informed 45 minutes after the fire started surprised many exporters.

Didn’t they have a fire alarm system or even a guard who could have noticed the fire and called the fire services, questioned Malhotra.

Delhi Fire Services Chief R.C. Sharma said Saturday that the fire could have been contained faster had the department been informed in time.

The fire at the depot destroyed 24 out of 25 warehouses that store goods meant for export.