After four people, including two women, were killed in a hotel fire in Lucknow early Monday, hours later, the Noida police along with fire department officials inspected 43 buildings, including 12 hotels, pulling up owners of eight buildings on account of deficiencies in fire security arrangements.

Seven teams of fire department personnel inspected various hotels, hospitals and schools in the district commanded by Chief Fire Officer Arun Kumar Singh on Monday afternoon. The inspection was carried out in 43 buildings, including 16 schools, 15 hospitals and 12 hotels, in the district. Owners of eight buildings that were found to be lacking fire security arrangements were asked to remove the said deficiencies within three days.

Sharda Hospital, Sharda University, G L Bajaj Institute, Kailash Hospital, Shivaay Shoot Hotel (Ansal Plaza), Stellar Gymkhana Hotel were some of the establishments that were inspected.

After conducting a fire drill at Hotel Fortune in Sector 27, the chief fire officer explained the importance of fire safety arrangements.

In case of fire accidents, hotel staff were instructed on the measures to be carried out for the safe evacuation of guests. During the inspection, the staff and employees present at these places were provided with training for operating primary fire-fighting equipment. They were also apprised of the dos and don’ts to keep in mind in case of a fire emergency, especially to ensure that exit gates should always be kept open and unobstructed. Personnel also instructed the staff to keep the water pump in auto mode and carry out regular fire drills at their establishments.

The four people who died in the Lucknow hotel fire were all guests at Levana Suites, located in Hazratganj, a commercial centre in the city. It took more than six hours to douse the blaze and while 24 people were rescued, around 14 people were injured, the Lucknow fire department said.

The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has seized the hotel and a preliminary probe into the incident has found that the hotel was functioning for the past five years without completing the necessary paperwork. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a joint probe by Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob and Lucknow Police Commissioner S B Shiradkar to ascertain the cause of the blaze.

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