Major fire at TOI building

A major fire broke out on the top floor of the five-storey Times of India building in central Delhi's ITO area this afternoon with scores of firemen and 25 fire tenders pressed into service.

Two persons trapped in the building were rescued by the firefighters, who took nearly 90 minutes to control the blaze that started at around 2.15 PM on the fourth floor. No casualty has been reported so far.

Nearly 500 employees and others present in the building were evacuated.

Initially, five fire tenders were rushed to the spot after the fire service got a report of plumes of smoke coming out of the building, a senior fire official said adding that the fire broke out in a room on the rear side of the building.

The number of fire tenders was later increased to 25, said a Fire Service official, adding that the blaze was brought under control by 4 PM and cooling operations were on.

"The fire alarm went off at around 2 PM and the people vacated the building. It is only after we came out of the building and saw all the smoke and flames, we realised the gravity of the situation," said a youth who was working on the third floor.