Fusion Homes: Fire breaks out in 'D' Tower, Electricity out for hours

Greater Noida West: A fire broke out in the LT panels shaft of tower D of Fusion Homes, a housing society in GreNo West on May 14, 2022. According to residents, the incident is said to have occurred between 1 am to 1.30 am. The fire broke out on in the shaft of the 11th floor in Tower-D which reached the 14th floor of the tower. As gathered, it was controlled by the maintenance staff using the extinguishers of the society and no casualties have been reported. However, residents complain that the fire sensors in society did not work. The cause of the fire is unknown and electricity has been cut in D tower.

When the residents noticed the fire, it had reached the shaft of the 14th floor. However, it had not entered the apartments. Residents are surprised why the sensors did not work as it was fixed just above the LT panel. As gathered, the entire space was covered with smoke. The families ran out to save their lives creating an atmosphere of stress and panic.

Residents are now afraid for their safety. They are demanding a fire audit of the society. After the incident at Samridhhi Grand avenue where a protest against the builder turned violent, residents are afraid to reveal their names. All names have been changed to protect their identity.

Also read | Greater Noida West: Residents demand better facilities

We talked to the flat owners of D tower about the situation. They said, "We were in fear the whole night. If we didn’t see it timely, what could have happened. I will never be able to sleep peacefully now because till yet, we were confident about the fire systems. Yesterday was an eye-opener for us. In Grenowest, nobody listens to the buyer's plight and maintenance never does anything good for residents once they handover the flat”

Abhay Kumar, a resident of Fusion Homes says, “There was a power cut for a long time. The DG was also not working. Finally, when we came out of our flat to know the reason, we saw flames of fire coming out from the shaft of LT panels on the 11th floor. Everyone was scared.”

He continues, “The sprinklers were not working, no sensors worked, not even the fire alarm sound. If the residents didn’t come out, we could have faced some hazardous massive fire incident like Panchsheel Greens 2.” (Fire took place due to sparks in the LT towers of Panchsheel Greens where it spread quickly in the entire basement).

Arshad Hussain, another resident says, "The maintenance team reached timely because the shaft was locked. They opened the lock to extinguish the fire. We are requesting a mock drill and fire audit. We want to get the action initiated promptly as all residents are afraid."

Moreover, Electricity has been cut in the society in tower D in 4 apartments. This is causing added difficulties for them.

Rahul Bajaj, a resident says, "We requested the maintenance to provide the flats which are available in the clubhouse on rent to the residents whose electricity has been cut so that they can sleep peacefully. On this, the maintenance said that we do not have the key."

We contacted Radheshyam Pandey, Maintenance Officer of Fusion homes. He says, “It was not a fire, it was just a spark. The plastic energy meter got sparked. We rushed to control it as soon as we received the information. It was controlled in two minutes with the extinguishers.”

On sensors (smoke detectors and sprinklers) not working he says, “the smoke detectors work above 18th floor. Here, there was no smoke detector, and for sprinklers, a temperature needs to be above 55. No flames were coming out of the shaft. The maintenance team reached there instantly to control the fire. Electricity was cut to avoid any further damage."

Residents are demanding a fire audit for the society. Residents say that they had lodged the request for a fire audit to the ACP Central Noida, but due to covid, it was postponed. As gathered, a list made by Chief Fire Officer included the society's name for an audit. However, it is still pending.

We contacted Arun Kumar Singh, Chief Fire Officer CFO, Gautam Budh Nagar but he was busy at the moment. We will talk to him regarding the need for mock drills and the fire safety audits in the societies of Greater Noida West and update the story.