Rajkot: A fire broke out in the basement and storage area of a commercial building near Lila Circle in Bhavnagar on Thursday. The four-story building also has a hospital and around 24 patients had to be rescued by the fire department. No casualties were reported. According to sources, the building also houses a bank, tuition classes, medical store, various shops and offices. The fire broke out at noon in some waste and smoke started billowing out. The fire department was called and four firefighters were engaged to douse the fire. Talking to TOI, P R Jadeja, in-charge chief fire officer of Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation, said, “We rescued around 24 patients, including five newborn children, from the hospital. They were evacuated by staircase, the emergency exit on other side and on stretchers.”The entire building was evacuated and the fire was doused in an hour. According to sources, fire broke out in some waste in the basement and wiring and other items stored there were charred.
