Fire breaks out at IELTS centre

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 29

A fire broke out in the IELTS coaching centre at GTB Market in Khanna on Wednesday night. The cause behind the fire was reportedly a short-circuit in the electricity meter.

The institute is located on the first and second floors while a restaurant is on the ground floor of the building.

Manoj, an employee at the restaurant, said he noticed smoke emanating from the first floor of the institute after which he broke down the glass of the door and tried to douse the flames but in vain. Later, he informed the fire brigade. Within 10 minutes, fire tenders reached the place and started the operation.

Timely action of the firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to the entire building. Residents of the area said the GTB market had several IELTS institutes, private shops and other business establishments and most of the them were running without obtaining fire NOC or without making any fire safety arrangement. In 2022 also, a major fire incident had reported in an IELTS institute in the market but the administration had not learnt any lesson and such institutes were still running without following the fire safety norms in a proper manner.

“Many IELTS institutes have narrow stairs and no other exit points. If any untoward incident occurs during daytime, lives of hundreds of students may be in jeopardy,” they said.

In this incident, the negligence of the Electricity Department was also evident. The firefighters broke shutters and glass to extinguish the fire. However, when the department informed electricity officials about the incident and asked them to cut off the power supply, no one came for around 15 minutes. The supply was not shut off either. The fire brigade team managed to control the fire by spraying water on the meter, risking their lives.

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