‘There was so much smoke… we couldn’t breathe’: Fire at Lutyens’ Delhi MP housing complex leaves 3 injured

Maintaining that the incident occurred “at the Staff Quarter block of MPs’ Flats”, the MoHUA said, “The incident took place in the silt area, where some unserviceable furniture articles, lined up to be disposed-off, were stacked.”

“At approximately 1.15 pm, the fire reportedly originated due to the ignition of firecrackers by the children in the vicinity. The fire was noticed at 1.18 pm. Before the arrival of fire tenders, CPWD (Central Public Works Department) officials promptly cut off the power supply and IGL gas connection to the building and ensured swift evacuation of the premises as a precautionary measure to avoid any casualty,” it added. The fire was extinguished by 1.45 pm, as per the statement.

Even as some residents complained that the fire safety equipment was unusable, the MoHUA said that “all fire-fighting systems installed in the building were operational”.

Several eyewitnesses claimed that fire safety equipment was defunct

The building’s first three floors have been allotted to the MPs’ staff while the fourth to eighth floors are allotted to the MPs.

Most of the damage was restricted to the first three floors, said officials. Residents of the staff quarters said that 22 MPs live in the apartment complex, while only 4-5 MPs live in the building.

A first-floor resident said his flat was gutted. “I was at work. While my wife and elder daughter were outside, my younger daughter and my mother were at home. Thankfully, they are safe,” he said.

Visuals from the spot showed thick black smoke engulfing the flats. Khushi, a 16-year-old girl who lives with her family on the third floor, was out to meet a friend when the fire started. But her two sisters were at home. “We were watching TV when the aunty next door started banging on our door… As we opened the door, it was all dark outside….” recalled Khushi’s sister Madhu (19).

Madhu and her younger sister, Jeevika (15), ran out into the corridor. “There was so much smoke… we couldn’t breathe….” said Jeevika.

While Madhu was injured on her right arm, knee and left thigh, Jeevika’s right wrist and two of her fingers sustained burns.

Cherry, their dog, was left behind in the melee. As smoke filled their flat, Cherry crawled under one of the beds for safety. “A firefighter rescued him,” said Khushi.

Several eyewitnesses claimed that fire safety equipment was defunct. “When I grabbed the emergency fire hose near the building, I found there was no water supply,” said Ganga Ram Valmiki, who works as a driver.

“The fire must have started around 12.55 pm… the fire department didn’t arrive before 2 pm… it is a miracle that no one died,” said another resident.

While police said the origin and cause of the fire is still under investigation, Valmiki said, “Be it a cracker or a beedi, the furniture — made of foam and dried coir (coconut husk) — shouldn’t have been piled up like this. It was an accident waiting to happen.”

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