Ghaziabad: A fire broke out in the slums of Vasundhara Sector 3 on Monday, reducing 12 shanties to ashes. Four cars parked nearby were also gutted in the fire. Locals and fire department officials rescued nearly 30 people and over a dozen cattle.Chief fire officer Rahul Pal said the locals informed them about the fire at 3pm. Flammable material present in the cluster caused the fire to spread rapidly and within moments, the fire engulfed 12 shanties and vehicles parked nearby. Before the fire tenders arrived, the people from the shanties untied the cattle and moved them out.“At least six LPG cylinders stored in the shanties exploded one after another, inciting terror among the residents. More than 10 fire tenders controlled the fire within one and a half hours. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined yet. We are investigating the reasons behind the blaze. But it might have been caused by a short circuit,” he said.A source said following a shortage of LPG cylinders, the people in the slum had shifted to cooking on wood-fired chulhas and high flames from one such chulha caused the fire.Another fire broke out at LN Electronics Company, located next to NH 24, around 4.30pm. High flames from the company’s premises could be seen from a distance.Fire department officials evacuated the employees from the factory that manufactured fans. The CFO said more than 20 fire engines from Ghaziabad, Noida and Meerut called to douse the flames. During filing of the copy, efforts were still underway to put out the fire.
