A fire broke out in an office located in the Patna High Court premises on Thursday morning, causing panic. The fire broke out in the 'Pre Road Section' office located on the ground floor of the court, the cause of which is said to be overheating of a computer. About a dozen important files were burnt to ashes in the incident, although a major accident was averted due to timely action by the fire department.

According to the fire department, the incident took place around 6:30 am when smoke was seen coming out from outside the office. At that time the office door was closed from outside. A security guard immediately informed the fire brigade control room after seeing the smoke. As soon as the information was received, a fire engine parked in the premises and two additional vehicles from the Secretariat Fire Station were dispatched to the spot.

The fire brigade personnel reached the spot, broke the door of the office and entered inside. It was found there that a short circuit in a computer caused the fire, which gradually spread to the files and furniture kept nearby. The office was filled with a lot of smoke, which was later taken out with the help of ventilation machines. The fire officer said, "If there had been a slight delay in giving information, the fire could have spread to the entire building. Fortunately, our personnel controlled the fire in time."

The administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The High Court administration has started ensuring that such incidents do not happen in the future. All the electronic equipment in the office is being examined and preparations are also being made to conduct a fire safety audit. The High Court administration has formed an internal committee to find out which cases were related to the information in the burnt files. This committee will also investigate which safety standards were ignored due to which this fire broke out.

This incident also raises questions on the state of fire fighting system in the court premises. According to sources, fire alarms and fire extinguishers were found inactive at many places in the premises. The administration is now considering conducting a fire safety audit in the entire campus. Local people and employees heaved a sigh of relief that there were no casualties in the incident. At the same time, it did not have any direct impact on judicial work as the incident happened before the regular court proceedings began.