Condition of teacher, two children still critical

Surat: The condition of 51-year-old woman teacher, who became unwell upon inhaling carbon monoxide after a fire broke out in Aagam Arcade commercial complex of Vesu here on Monday, is stated to be very critical. A seven-year-old boy had died in the accident while six children had to be hospitalized. The condition of two children is reported to be serious too.
The fire started at around 6.30pm on ground floor and it gradually spread to other parts of the building. Billowing smoke engulfed upper floors of the building where the victim and other students were studying in a tuition class, making them ill along with the teacher.

Priti Nayan Patel, a teacher at Curious Mind Academy of Vivek Mishra, is undergoing treatment at Sanjivani Hospital. “We hope she pulls through,” sources said.

Chief fire officer Vasant Parikh said, “We have issued a notice to the academy and asked it close down. Such classes need to keep at least 10 trained men who know how to operate fire safety equipment.”

Fire officials said they will restart fire training sessions from Wednesday for people in multistoried buildings, particularly from where tuition classes are being run. Fire officials said they will also register an FIR in the case.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a team of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) under the leadership of deputy commandant Nilesh Kumar Gaur from ONGC, Hajira was among the first to rush to the spot.

Gaur told TOI, “With four fire tenders and a staff of 50, we launched a rescue operation for people trapped in the building. We saved 20 lives and sent at least 10 unconscious people to hospitals.”

Chief fire officer Vasant Parikh said, “Our team was informed by a woman on telephone. We too arrived at the spot and immediately started the rescue operation with our hydraulic platform.”

Aagam Arcade commercial complex was built four years ago. Surat Municipal Corporation has started an inquiry into the incident. It will make fire safety provisions mandatory for the tuition classes. Over 100 private tuition classes are being run from commercial complexes located in congested areas of the city with no fire safety provisions.