Ghaziabad: Sixty people were safely evacuated from a three-storey building in Sector 3, Vasundhara, on Monday afternoon after a fire spread in a banquet hall on its ground floor. A short circuit outside the building sparked flames that spread quickly through the halls decorative items. Four fire tenders extinguished the fire in an hour.At the time of the fire, a couple had been celebrating their 50th marriage anniversary with their family and friends in the banquet hall.The buildings upper floors, which operate as ahotel, had six occupants across rooms. The people inside the building were not aware of the fire. Instead, the residents of SG Homes, located near the building, alerted the staff in the building and police about the blaze.Chief fire officer Rahul Pal said the fire department received information at 2.10 pm and dispatched four fire tenders — three from Vaishali and one from Sahibabad — to Kinsfolk Hotel and Banquet Hall. Before they reached, two fire officers near the building had started using fire-fighting equipment from SG Homes and the banquet hall to combat the flames.Rakesh Singh, an eyewitness and resident of SG Homes, said he was on the balcony of his flat on a phone call when he saw smoke billowing out of the building. I saw people coming out of the banquet hall as the fire surrounded the building in no time. People started using a water pipe from the society to bring the blaze under control. Soon, the tenders reached and doused the flames using ladders and other equipment, he said.Sunit Singh, who was attending the anniversary, said the people, who were busy with the celebrations, rushed out after a person came running into the banquet hall and alerted them about the fire.Preliminary investigations point to a short circuit outside the building, on the second or third floor. The fire reached inside the building due to the decorative items in the banquet hall. But we used the fire extinguisher in the hall and the fire tenders to douse the flames, Pal said.A staff member of the banquet hall said the fire had led to property damage and other losses. Reopening the banquet hall-cum-hotel will take some time because the fire destroyed half of the structure, including beds and sofas, among other items, added the staff member.We also published the following articles recentlyFire breaks out at banquet hall in UPs Ghaziabad, no injuries reportedA fire broke out in a banquet hall in Ghaziabads Sector-3, Vasundhara, on Monday afternoon. Rahul Pal, Chief Fire Officer (CFO), reported receiving information about the fire at Kinsfolk Hotel & Banquet Hall around 2:10 pm.After bulldozer run, banquet halls back in form on Aravali land with SC forest tagBanquet halls, shops, and eateries in Faridabad have been restored and new boundary walls are being constructed to colonize more patches of protected forest land. Perimeter fences are being built on plots along the Surajkund-Badkhal road. These plots are barren after the trees were cleared. Despite being protected under the PLPA, construction has continued on this land. A survey found thousands of illegal structures built on the protected land, mostly in Anangpur village. However, those running the establishments claim they are on common village land and not encroaching on forest areas.Banquets & lawns full to brim, couples scrambleDecember is a busy month for the hospitality sector in Nagpur due to the Christmas-New year week, wedding season, and the winter legislature session. Hotel room inventory is in high demand, with rooms being sold at triple their average rate. Finding suitable options for banquet halls and lawns is challenging, especially on auspicious dates suggested by spiritual guides. The limited venues in the luxury segment get booked quickly, starting from top hotels. Booking in advance is recommended, although there is a risk of unexpected cancellations.

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