A fire broke out in a four-storey commercial building housing mobile accessory shops in Delhi’s Gaffar Market early in the morning, damaging property but causing no reported injuries, police said. The blaze engulfed Shop No. 13/21 at Puri Plaza in Chain Wali Gali, a densely packed commercial area of Karol Bagh.
A PCR call reporting the fire was received at 1.28 am at Karol Bagh police station and recorded under DD No. 8. The night staff, accompanied by the station house officer, reached the location and found flames spreading through the building.
According to preliminary information, the fire originated in a ground-floor shop where mobile batteries were stored before spreading across all four floors. Around 20 to 25 fire tenders were sent to the site, along with three CAT ambulances and two PCR vehicles.
The fire was later extinguished and police said the situation was under control, with law and order maintained at the site. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far. The incident has resulted in property damage, although the extent of the loss has not yet been established.
Police said overheating or overcharging of batteries was suspected to have triggered the fire. The suspected cause remains preliminary and will be assessed through reports from the Fire Department and the Electrical Inspector. An investigation by a forensic science laboratory will also examine the building and determine whether other combustible material was present.
The incident has also raised an immediate structural-safety question for the affected commercial premises. Police said they would obtain a structural safety assessment or certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to determine whether the building had suffered damage that could pose a risk to human life.
The response involved multiple agencies because the incident combined a fire emergency with possible electrical, storage and structural hazards. Battery storage inside a commercial shop, the spread of flames through a multi-storey building and the need for a post-fire safety assessment are now part of the official inquiry.
Further action will be taken after the Fire Department, Electrical Inspector, forensic team and MCD complete their assessments. The exact cause of the fire and the building’s structural condition will be determined through those reports.
