Fire breaks out in basement of Gujarat secretariat building in Gandhinagar

Although firefighters limited the blaze to the basement, thick, noxious smoke plumes emanating from the underground chamber blocked access to the fire’s likely source, officials said.

The basement of Block 9 has a room where old records of the departments were kept, a government official told The Indian Express.

No important records destroyed: Government

The government said in a statement that the records kept in the basement have sustained partial damage in the fire.
However, the Narmada, water resources, water supply, and Kalpasar departments clarified in the statement that “no important, sensitive, or confidential government records of the division have been destroyed in the incident”.

The statement further said that all “files and government records have been scanned and stored safely in a digital form” under the good governance initiative.

Firefighters wearing oxygen breather kits had to use at least two industrial-grade fans to ventilate the smoke from the basement. Officials said the cooling process and the fire investigation remain underway.

No casualty has been reported in the fire.