Overview
- The blaze started in the ground-floor common electric meter cabin of Gomati Vaishali Chawl and was reported at about 6:00 am on Friday, with firefighters bringing it under control within roughly 20 minutes.
- Fire crews confined the fire to wiring and electrical installations inside the metre room and prevented the blaze from spreading to the six-storey residential building.
- Eleven residents were injured from burns and smoke inhalation; two with burn injuries were moved to Cooper Hospital and nine were admitted to Trauma Care Hospital and are reported stable.
- Civic officials say a short circuit in the metre room is the suspected cause and have opened a formal investigation to determine the exact reason for the fire.
- Named patients range in age from 13 to 80, highlighting how shared meter rooms and concentrated wiring in chawls can put multiple households at risk and may prompt closer checks of such installations.