Noida: A fire broke out on the first floor of a house in Greater Noida’s Beta 2 after an air-conditioner exploded on Wednesday night. Fire officials said there were no injuries or casualties and the blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes.According to a senior fire officer at Knowledge Park, the incident occurred at a three-storey house in the Beta 2 area.Residents alerted the fire department around 10.30pm about the blaze at a three-storey house in Knowledge Park, Beta 2. Two fire engines were dispatched to the spot from the Knowledge Park fire station.When firefighters reached the spot, they noted that the flames had spread quickly throughout the first floor of the building due to the flammable mattress and bed in the room with the AC unit. The residents of the building had already evacuated when firefighters arrived.Firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading to other floors and the blaze was controlled within 30 minutes.Noting the risks of such accidents during the summer, fire officials warned against excessive air-conditioning use. “Running air conditioners at extremely low temperatures, such as 17 degrees Celsius or 18 degrees Celsius, puts an excessive load on electrical systems and can lead to fires. We advise residents to set their ACs at around 24 degrees Celsius during summer,” chief fire officer Pradeep Kumar Chaubey said. He also urged residents to have their ACs serviced at the start of the summer to avoid mishaps.The fire department further reiterated that in the case of a fire, residents must immediately seek help through the 101 or 112 emergency helplines. If trapped in a smoke-filled room, people must bend low, cover their nose and mouth to avoid inhaling the fumes, and try to find an exit. If clothes catch fire, they must follow the “stop, drop and roll” principle to extinguish the flames.If a fire breaks out in a building, people must avoid elevators and use the staircase, and look for fire extinguishers, firefighters said.
