Fire in Secretariat annexe Crucial Records, Service Books Of 300Employees Destroyed; Probe Ordered Srinagar, July 11: Fire engulfed a two-storey wooden annexe at Civil Secretariat here on Thursday, destroying official records of various departments. The blaze created panicin the area and also led to scuffle between employees and CRPF personnel. Government has ordered a time-bound inquiry into the fire accident. Residents of Suthra Shahi as well as the secretariat employees shouted slogans against Fire Service officers, complaining that the fire tenders reached late. They said the damage could have been brought under control had fire tenders arrived at the spot in time. “Some employees noticed smoke billowing from the two-storey wooden building in civil secretariat here. Flames and smoke was seen billowing from the wooden structure adjacent to the main building of the Civil Secretariat. It was found during preliminary investigations that the fire emerged from room number 108, housing office of the Accounts and Treasuries Department,” SSP Security Civil Secretariat Maqsood-uz-Zaman told Greater Kashmir. He said that employees were asked to vacate the building and move to safer places while the fire tender which always remains stationed at Civil Secretariat was immediately deployed to extinguish the fire. “However, before the fire tender could start work, the fire spread to other parts of the building and Fire & Emergency Services Department was contacted to rush more tenders to control the fire,” he added. He said the blaze was brought under control after several fire tenders were pressed into service for nearly two and a half hours. “The fire incident also exposed the preparedness of the Disaster Management Cell, if at all it is set up, in the civil secretariat as crucial first hour was lost in the absence of well equipped fire tenders at the site of fire accident. The precious time lost created precarious situation for the fire fighters as the fire in the woodenbuilding had spread and engulfed theentire archaic structure by then,” saideyewitnesses. Employees at civil secretariat said theonly fire tender present there was empty and there was no water in thetank to immediately start fire-fighting. Sources said the official records and service books of over 300 officials perished in the blaze. Offices of the Director General of Accounts and Treasuries, Cooperative, Higher Education, Revenue, Vice Chairman ofGujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board and a dispensary had been operatingfrom the devastated building. Some employees received minor injuries during a scuffle with CRPF personnel. “The two groups were blaming each other for the incident. It was only after intervention of security staff that the scuffle ended,” said the eyewitnesses. “The wooden building caught fire within seconds and all the records inside the building were destroyed. However, it is expected that 40 per cent record could have been retrieved from the ground floor of the building,” said an official. “The building was not fitted with fire extinguishers resulting in quick spread of fire,” he added. Security personnel didn’t allow anyone to move towards the scene till a team of Forensic Laboratory arrived to collect the samples. Following the fire incident the employees were reportedly directed not to report on duty as the gates of the secretariat complex were closed. However, a small group of employees indulged in slogan shouting against the authorities. Deputy Director Fire and Emergency Services, Muhammad Akbar Dar said the J&K Fire Services and Emergency Department had pressed more than one dozen fire tenders into service todouse the flames. He said the priorityof the firemen on ground zero was toprevent any loss of life, and also preventing the blaze from spreading to the vicinity inhabited by civilian population. Security officials said electric short-circuit seems to be the likely cause of the blaze as there was little likelihoodof sabotage, since the complex is well guarded. GOVT ORDERS PROBE: The Government has ordered an inquiry into the incident to be conducted by Secretary, General Administration Department. The inquiry will be completed within 15 days. Meanwhile, on learning about the fireincident, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cut short his function at Ghulab Bagh and rushed to the Civil Secretariat to inspect the gutted structure. After taking first-hand appraisal of the fire incident and receiving the brief from the top brass of administration and Director General Fire Services, G M Bhat, the Chief Minister gave directions for putting in place emergent measures to save the retrieved records and to house the gutted offices. #rouzdar
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 03:24:12 +0000