Late-night fire guts record room at South Delhi transport office, No injuries reported

A late-night fire broke out in the record room of a transport authority office in South Delhi’s Sheikh Sarai Phase-2 on Thursday, triggering a swift emergency response but causing no injuries, officials said.

According to the Delhi Fire Services, a distress call was received at 9:31 pm, after which nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Firefighters found the blaze confined to a records storage area packed with paper files, furniture and electrical equipment materials that can burn rapidly once ignited. After nearly two hours of firefighting , the flames were brought under control by 11:20 pm.

No staff members were present in the affected section at the time, which helped prevent casualties. Officials said the rest of the building remained largely unharmed.

While the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, preliminary assessments suggest it may have been triggered by an electrical fault, a common risk in offices with ageing wiring, overloaded circuits or continuously running equipment . The heavy concentration of old paper records may have intensified the blaze once it started. Investigators are also examining the possibility of a short circuit in air-conditioning units or unattended electrical appliances.

Authorities said a detailed inspection will determine the precise cause and assess the extent of damage to official documents. The incident has renewed concerns about fire safety measures in government buildings that store large volumes of physical records.

Officials confirmed that no injuries were reported and the situation is now fully under control.