Education Ministry: Fire erupted at SPA campus, not ministry's office

Education Ministry: After a fire broke out at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) premises near ITO in New Delhi, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has clarified that the incident did not occur at its headquarters but at the SPA campus.

According to the MoE's official statement, several media reports have “incorrectly stated” that the fire broke out at the ministry’s office.

The ministry, in its statement, has clarified that the MoE headquarters are located on Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi, while the fire incident occurred at the SPA premises located near ITO.

MoE also added that the clarification has been issued to prevent the spread of misinformation surrounding the misinformation.

Reacting to the media reports, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh posted on X (formerly Twitter) and said that the news of the fire incident in the Education Ministry's offices is "very concerning and fishy".

MOE's clarification on fire incident

Ministry highlighted the fact that the MoE headquarters is located at Kartavya Bhavan 2, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, while the fire incident occurred at the premises of the SPA located at 4-Block B, Indraprastha Estate, Vikas Marg (ITO), New Delhi.

The ministry also highlighted that the fire incident at SPA’s building was minor in nature and was quickly brought under control, and no loss of life or property has been reported.

Fire at Delhi's SPA campus

As per the Delhi police, information about the incident was received at IP Estate Police Station around 8:45 am and was promptly relayed to a local police team, which immediately reached the spot, the PTI report said.

Firefighters initiated efforts to bring the blaze under control after a fire broke out in the faculty rooms of the SPA campus’s administrative block on the 2nd-floor of the building. A multi-tasking staff (MTS) employee at SPA told the police that smoke and flames were seen coming from the faculty rooms in the administrative block. He subsequently alerted authorities by making a PCR call.

In addition to the fire tenders, three ambulances, two PCR vans, traffic police personnel, and local police staff were deployed to support the emergency response operation and maintain public safety within and around the campus.

Furthermore, authorities have launched an investigation to inquire into the exact cause of the fire.