LUCKNOW, June 26 -- A swift response from security guard Ajay Gupta and driver Aleem, both in their mid 30s, averted a major tragedy after a fire broke out at the One Stop Centre (181 Asha Jyoti Kendra) on the Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Combined Hospital campus in Lucknow early on Friday. Aleem drives the centre's van.

The blaze damaged the electrical panel, a portion of the false ceiling and part of a wooden interior column. However, no injuries or casualties were reported.

According to Sonal Srivastava, psycho social counsellor at the centre, the fire broke out at around 5.30 am due to a suspected short circuit in an electrical panel in the waiting area. The flames spread through the false ceiling, filling the building with smoke. At the ...