Drug control office gutted
Gurugram, February 7
A massive fire broke out in a dispensary in Sector 45 last night. The dispensary served as a drug control office and housed samples of chemicals and liquors. The fire spread rapidly, engulfing documents, furniture, medicines and other items in the office, reducing them to ashes.
Fortunately, no casualties have been reported in this incident. Short-circuiting is believed to be the cause behind the fire. However, local residents are now demanding the relocation of facilities from the site. Reportedly, the office-cum-dispensary lacked any fire-fighting equipment or arrangements.
According to Nitish Bhardwaj, fire safety officer (FSO) of the Sector 29 fire station, they received information at 9.15 pm on Tuesday night about the fire in the dispensary. “Five fire vehicles from Sector 29 fire station and two fire vehicles from Sector 37 fire station were dispatched to the incident site immediately. After about two hours of efforts, the fire was brought under control, but records, furniture, medicines and other items in the dispensary suffered extensive damage,” he stated.
Following this incident, residents of Sector 45 are now demanding the relocation of the Drug Control Department’s office from the dispensary. They expressed concerns about various types of chemicals and other flammable substances stored in the office, posing a threat to the residents’ safety.
A resident mentioned that drums of sanitizers seized during the Covid-19 pandemic were stored in the office, which exacerbated the fire. A senior officer of the drug control office admitted that the office building was an old dispensary and lacked any fire safety arrangements.
