Major fire at godown of firm that provided supplies for tents at Maha Kumbh, 24 suffer burns

Prayagraj: A major fire broke out early Saturday at a godown owned by Lallu Ji Tent & Company, one of the firms that provided supplies to erect massive tents for the recently concluded Maha Kumbh, in the Parade ground of the city area on Saturday, gutting property worth lakhs. Around two dozen people sustained slight burn injuries, but there was no casualty. The firm currently owned by Mudit Agarwal has been helping erect tent cities for Magh Mela, Kumbh and other religious fairs in Prayagraj and across the country for many years.

"Although there has been a huge damage to property of the firm because of the fire, timely action and that too, on a large scale, saved lives and also property worth crores," said Prayagraj CFO RK Pandey.

The firefighters took around five hours to completely douse the fire. Over a dozen fire tenders were engaged in battling the flames, and fire trucks were also called in from neighbouring districts of Prayagraj and Pratapgarh to assist in controlling the situation.

"Currently, the fire is under control, thanks to the combined efforts of 18 fire tenders, including 12 from UP Fire Service and emergency services, and 4 from the Army and Police," the CFO said.

During the operation, 20 employees of the godown were successfully rescued. However, seven persons, including two officers of the fire department and five employees, sustained burn injuries. The injured were rushed to hospital for treatment.

Around 500 residents of a nearby residential slum were evacuated to safer locations to prevent any casualties.

Prayagraj: A major fire broke out early morning at Lallu Ji's tent house godown located in the Parade ground of the Maha Kumbh area on Saturday. Property worth lakhs was gutted in the flames. Around 24 people sustained slight burn injuries but there was no casualty.

"Although there has been huge damage of property of the firm because of the fire, but timely action and that too of large scale, saved lives and also property worth crores", said the CFO, Pandey. The official however denied having any knowledge whether the items stored in the godown were insured or not.

As soon as the fire office received the call, fire tenders were immediately dispatched from Civil Line and Naini fire stations to the site. As the intensity of the fire escalated, additional fire tenders were called in from the nearby fire stations of Handiya, Meja, and Soraon. 10 fire tenders were engaged in battling the flames, and fire trucks were also called in from neighbouring districts of Prayagraj and Pratapgarh to assist in controlling the situation.

"Currently, the fire is under control, thanks to the combined efforts of 18 fire tenders, including 12 from UP Fire Service and emergency services, and 4 from the Army and Police," informed the Chief Fire Officer, RK Pandey. The firefighters took around five hours to completely douse the fire.

During the operation, 20 employees of the godown were successfully rescued. However, seven persons, including two officers of the fire department and five employees, sustained burn injuries. The injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment. The officials involved in the operation included the CFO, Fire Station Officer (FSO) Rajesh Kumar Chaurasia, Naini fire station's second officer Mahantu, and firemen Indrajeet and Pradeep Kumar Yadav.

Additionally, a nearby residential slum area was in danger of being affected by the fire. Approximately 500 residents were evacuated to safer locations to prevent any casualties.

The fire-fighting efforts were augmented with four cooling spray machines from the local municipal corporation. The authorities are working diligently to prevent further damage and ensure the safety of the surrounding areas. The situation was closely monitored by senior police officers, including the DCP of the city. The godown, was one of the firm named Lalu Ji and sons who supply different items of camping in the Sangam area including tents, furniture, bamboo etc, be it smaller occasion like annual Magh Mela or for that matter, Kumbh (every six years) or Maha Kumbh, which was held in Jan-Feb, this year.