fire fighting personnel in telephone exchange
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
A sudden fire broke out in the main telephone exchange complex on AMU Road on Friday night. Within no time, the second floor was completely engulfed in flames and the telecom machinery system was engulfed in flames. Due to which the BSNL network got stalled. Several fire tenders reached the spot on the news and efforts were on to douse the fire till the news was written late last night. The reason behind the fire is not clear, but a short circuit or a spark during rain is believed to be the main reason.
According to the sequence of events, at around ten o’clock in the night, in the machinery system section of the second floor of the telephone exchange, a sudden fire broke out with a spark and smoke started coming out. On this, the staff present there immediately informed the police control room and their officers. Three fire engines reached the spot one by one on the news and Inspector Civil Lines and BSNL officials also came. The fire department staff started trying to extinguish the fire by breaking glass, windows etc. The fire was not under control even after one and a half hour’s effort. The entire first garland was engulfed in smoke and flames.
With the help of fire engines, the staff was busy in extinguishing the fire. During this, the area was plunged into darkness due to the shutdown of power supply, due to which the fire department was also facing trouble in extinguishing the fire. Due to the non-extinguishing of the fire for a long time and the presence of smoke, it is believed that the fire has already started. It is a matter of pride that during this time there was not much staff due to the night shift. The office in the premises below is staffed throughout the day. Had the staff been there, there could have been some loss. In this regard, Bannadevi’s fire officer Sanjeev Kumar only told that the fire is being extinguished now. It is very difficult to say for what reasons the fire broke out.
Smoke till officers’ residences
The telephone exchange area in which there are residences of police administrative and justice department officials on both sides. There is also a police control room at a few steps. Due to the fire, smoke spread all around and the entire area was disturbed by the smell of wiring smoke. People were having trouble even breathing. Not only this, due to the high smoke, even the fire personnel were not able to enter inside in the beginning. Later, two firemen entered inside wearing oxygen kits and went inside and started efforts to extinguish the fire.
BSNL network stalled, government services closed
The BSNL network has come to a complete standstill due to fire at the telephone exchange. Which is directly affecting the official CUG numbers of police and administration. All CUG numbers have been closed. There is a problem due to lack of communication between the officers. At the same time, the general public is also not able to contact the numbers of the police administration. Now how much area has been affected and by when it will be improved. This will be clear only after the technical staff sees the machines. DGM BSNL Tushar Gupta only tells that after the fire is extinguished, the work of repairing the system will be done immediately.