Chandni Chowk market fire extinguished: Officials

A major fire broke out in a godown in an electrical market in central Delhi's congested Chandni Chowk locality on Thursday as fire fighters expressed apprehension that the building might collapse.

There was no immediate report of any casualty or injury in the blaze that erupted at the Bhagirath Palace market, which sells electrical and electronics items, at around 5:10 pm and 22 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, fire brigade officials said.

Delhi Fire Services Director A K Sharma said they have no information about anyone being trapped inside the building. He refused to speculate on the cause of the fire but rescue workers said they suspected short circuit to be the cause.

Rescue workers evacuated people and barricaded the area to ensure smooth fire-fighting operations. However, congested lanes in the locality hindered fire fighters.

"The fire broke out in a godown of electrical items. It is a 200 square yard godown. There were lot of inflammable plastic and PVC material. The structure is depleted due to age. It might have developed cracks. There is all the possibility that the structure may collapse.

"We are not able to enter the building as there is a huge fire and there is a fear that the building may collapse. We are trying to prevent the fire from spreading," Sharma said.

Power supply to the area has been snapped as a precaution. Taj Hassan, Joint Commissioner of police (Central), said the fire was brought under control within 30 minutes and there was 'no cause for worry' as the response of the fire brigade was 'very good'.