Narrow escape for family as power meter catches fire

Strap: Emergency helpline 101 fails to respond, officials to publicise local nos

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, December 13

The family of a 31-year-old MNC executive had a narrow escape today after the electricity meter installed near the staircase of her house caught fire and the emergency helpline (101) failed to help.

Neel Kahturia, a resident of Sector 31 here, said as it rained heavily last night, she could not find dry sand anywhere to douse the flames and after making a call to the electricity department, she tried to contact the fire emergency helpline.

“I made over 15 calls but there was no response. As the flames spread rapidly and smoke grew thicker, I cried for help. A neighbour called up 112, a common emergency helpline for all kinds of emergencies, but the receiver refused to help, saying they did not deal with fire services,” Kathuria said.

She said finally a colleague, who had the contact details of a local fire station, came to their rescue. “A fire tender reached our house within 5 minutes after being contacted,” she said, adding: “On being questioned, a fireman told me that one could not connect to 101 from many networks and it gets forwarded to Delhi and remains unanswered. He gave me local numbers, saying only calling them would get quick help.”

Fire officer Isham Singh Kashyap said: “Our main office is in Bhim Nagar and even if you are just 100 metre away, the call does not connect with the local fire office but is forwarded to Delhi and we receive complaints of no response. We will publicise the local fire station numbers and emergency contacts now.”