Noida: Two fire department personnel were killed and three of their colleagues seriously injured after a factory wall and an iron beam collapsed on them during firefighting operations at ILGIM’s factory, a chip-making unit in Greater Noida’s Ecotech-3, early Tuesday.Fireman Rohit Yadav (32) and chief constable-driver Teerathpal Singh (48) were part of the cooling operation and standing between two fire tenders after the blaze had largely been brought under control when a section of the factory wall and an iron beam suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris, officials said.
Two firefighters standing in the setback area next to the fire tenders died after the chunks of concrete and bricks fell on them
Chunks of concrete and bricks also collapsed on three other personnel — chief constable driver Rajpal Singh, firemen Manish Kumar and Amit Kumar — who were standing atop one of the trucks as they trained a water jet at the building, Ecotech-3 fire station officer (FSO) Ajay Kumar Singh told TOI.The three were swiftly pulled out and rushed to a nearby hospital, the FSO said, even as the search continued for Rohit and Teerathpal. “The two personnel remained trapped under the debris for some time before they could be pulled out. Both had died by the time they could be taken to hospital,” he said.
Three firemen, who were training a water jet at the building when the wall collapsed, were also severely injured as the bricks and plaster fell on them
The FSO said they were about an hour into the firefighting operation when a large section of the wall extending from the first floor to the second floor suddenly collapsed. “At that time, Teerathpal was standing near me in the setback area, and fireman Rohit was also positioned nearby in the pathway between two fire engines. The other three personnel were on top of the fire tenders, continuing cooling operations. I had just moved a few steps ahead when the structure came crashing down,” he said.The fire had broken out in a laboratory on the first floor around 3.30 am, where electronic chips for washing machines were being tested. With the building’s alarm system functional, nearly 500 employees on the night shift managed to evacuate in time. As the blaze intensified, six fire tenders were initially deployed. Additional engines were called in to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent industrial units, said chief fire officer Pradeep Kumar Chaubey. A total of 40 personnel were pressed into the firefight.
Two floors of ILGIM Company, an electronic chip manufacturing unit in the Ecotech-3, was gutted. Five hundred employees working on nightshift were evacuated
Yatharth Super Speciality Hospital, where the firefighters were taken, said the five personnel were brought in around 4.30 am. Two of the men had died before reaching the hospital and were declared dead by the doctors at the emergency department upon arrival. “Three other firefighters had sustained head and chest injuries. They are currently under treatment and are showing signs of improvement,” the hospital said in a statement.Both men who died hailed from Baghpat. Teerathpal Singh had been posted at Ecotech-3 fire station for the past three years. Rohit Yadav had joined the Uttar Pradesh Fire Service in 2016. Colleagues remembered both as dedicated personnel. The incident has sent shockwaves through the fire department, with officials describing it as one of the most tragic line-of-duty losses in recent years in Noida.Police commissioner Lakshmi Singh said a detailed inquiry had been ordered. “If the investigation finds any violation of safety norms, construction rules or negligence on the part of the factory management or any other agency, an FIR will be registered and strict legal action will follow,” she said. A letter will also be sent to the Public Works Department requesting a structural audit of the factory building.Preliminary investigation suggested the collapsed wall may not have been adequately supported by structural pillars. Officials said the exact cause would only be established after a detailed structural audit and technical investigation.
