A major fire broke out at the Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura on Thursday morning, gutting a significant portion of the college library and damaging hundreds of books.
According to officials from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the blaze erupted around 8:55 am, quickly engulfing the first, second, and third floors of the library housed in a four-storey building. DFS chief Atul Garg confirmed that 11 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and the flames were brought under control by 9:40 AM. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Preliminary findings suggest that the fire was triggered by a short circuit in the library’s server, a senior college official said. “The section housing old and rare books has suffered extensive damage. The library remains filled with dense smoke, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the losses. A clearer picture will emerge once visibility improves,” the official added.
The intensity of the fire caused several window panes to shatter, while strong winds accelerated the spread of flames. “Our teams acted promptly, battling not just the blaze but also the challenging weather conditions. Cooling operations are still underway,” a senior fire officer said.
Though the college administration has yet to issue an official statement, sources within the institution expressed relief that the fire broke out before 10 am, a time when student footfall would have been considerably higher. “Had the incident occurred even half an hour later, the situation could have been much more serious,” a college source noted.
Several videos of the incident flooded social media, showing towering flames leaping from the library windows and thick black smoke billowing across the college premises, drawing widespread concern and reactions online.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, a fire was reported at a nursing home in West Delhi’s Uttam Nagar. The blaze, which started around 8 PM in the nurse hostel on the second floor, also damaged parts of the third floor where medical records were stored.
Also Read: Delhi: How hospitals are sleepwalking into fire disasters
Firefighters deployed 11 tenders to douse the flames, managing to bring the situation under control by 9:25 PM. Approximately 15 to 20 patients and 20 staff members present in the building were evacuated safely. No casualties were reported.
Both incidents are being investigated to ascertain the causes of the fires.
(With inputs from PTI)
