Five vehicles were destroyed in a major fire near the Sai Temple in Laxmi Dairy Lane of Jawahar Colony, Faridabad, early Tuesday morning, triggering panic among nearby residents.
A house adjacent to the spot was also damaged in the incident. Tiles fell off the walls and an air-conditioner was gutted in the blaze. The occupants of the house managed to escape safely through the back door.
Locals alleged that despite being informed promptly, fire brigade vehicles reached the spot nearly an hour later. By then, most of the vehicles had already been completely destroyed. Firefighters eventually managed to bring the blaze under control after considerable effort.
According to residents, a vehicle suddenly caught fire around 4:40 am, and the flames quickly spread to four other vehicles parked nearby. Residents initially attempted to douse the fire on their own, but the intensity of the flames made it impossible to control.
Preliminary information suggests that a taxi parked in an empty plot around 2 am was the first vehicle to catch fire. The blaze subsequently spread to nearby vehicles, and within a short span, all five vehicles were engulfed.
Sukhbir Yadav, Fire Officer at the NIT Fire Station, said the station received a call around 4:45 am regarding a fire involving multiple vehicles. A fire brigade team was immediately dispatched to the scene and managed to control the fire after sustained efforts.
Officials suspect that several of the vehicles were CNG-powered, which may have caused the fire to spread rapidly.