Fire disrupts Airtel services

By: Rita Ghose and Varun Singh
Date: 2008-07-18
Mumbai:
A fire broke out at the Peninsula Corporate Park in Lower Parel, a little after 8.30 am, and has disrupted Airtel services.
There have been no casualties reported.
Airtel officials are now working to get the services back in order.
The fire started in the basement of the multi-storey building and eight fire engines, seven tankers and two ambulances were rushed to contain it.
The Fire Brigade officers said that the fire had reached the second floor of the building had been put out within an hour's time.
However, this was enough to affect the Airtel's Communication Systems, which has left many Airtel users in a dilemma.
Airtel officials, themselves, are unsure when the services will be resumed.
Sanjay Kapoor, President, Airtel, says, "It's too early to say when network can be restored."It is also to early to assess the loss, including damages done to the property and the server," he added.
An official statement will be release at 4 pm today, which will inform when the services will come back to order.An Airtel spokesperson said, "The fire has resulted in a temporary disruption in power supply, which has impacted our network services in some areas of Mumbai.
"We are confident of soon restoring normalcy."
PD Karguppikar, Deputy Chief Fire Officer said that the basement's fire sprinkler system did not spring into action as the alternate electrical supply or the diesel generator in the systems was in manual mode.Karguppikar emphasised, "The diesel generator should always be on automatic mode."