One-year-old among nine killed in fire at East Delhi building
Officials said that around 10 to 15 people were safely evacuated from the building during rescue efforts.
Upon arrival, the police found that the fire had engulfed flats on the second, third, and fourth floors of the building. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha) Nine people belonging to three different families were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building of eight flats in Vivek Vihar in East Delhi’s Shahdara area early on Sunday. All the victims, including a one-year-old boy, were trapped in their flats, which the owners had extended and enclosed within cage-like structures made of iron grills.
The four-storey building in B Block of Vivek Vihar has space for parking on the ground floor, and two four-bedroom flats – at the front and back – on each floor above.
The fire was confined to the flats at the back of the building, Mukesh Verma, divisional commissioner of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), said.
The deceased were identified as Arvind Jain (60), Anita Jain (58), Nishant Jain (35), Anchal Jain (33), Akash Jain (1), Shikha Jain (45), Nitin Jain (50), Shailey Jain (48), and Samyank Jain (25).
All the families had been living in the building for the past nine years and were engaged in various businesses. Around 15 other residents of the building were rescued, the Fire Service said.
Police said the fire appeared to have started on the second floor and travelled upward, to the third and fourth floors. Residents of the area reported hearing a loud noise and suspected that an air conditioner had exploded, but this has not been confirmed by the Fire Service or police.
The entire rear of the building had been enclosed within the iron structures that did not allow residents to exit or rescuers to enter the flats until the grills had been cut to create an opening.
“People build these cage-like iron structures usually to extend their living space and to keep out pigeons, monkeys, and thieves,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.
“The residents could not escape to the top of the building either, because the door to the terrace was locked. There is only one entry and exit to the building, which is in the front. There was dense smoke, and the lift had stopped working,” the officer added.
According to this officer, some of the flats had central locking systems, which may have stopped working after the fire broke out and power was cut to the building, trapping the residents.
Police said the control room received a call about the fire at 3.48 am. Officers who reached the spot found fire and smoke in the flats on the second, third, and fourth floors. Firefighters and rescue teams immediately launched evacuation and containment operations, they said.
Fourteen fire tenders were pressed into service, and the Fire Service was supported by personnel from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and the local police, officials said.
The fire was brought under control by 8 am. Those who were evacuated were taken to hospital for first aid. Three of the nine bodies were found in the stairwell, suggesting that the victims were trying to go to the terrace through the smoke.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress over the tragedy and extended his condolences to the families. He announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of the dead.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu said he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and offered his thoughts and prayers for the families. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said she was deeply distressed by the tragedy.
Among the deceased, Arvind Jain lived on the third floor with his wife and sons. His elder son, Deepak, and his family were not in the flat at the time.
Nitin Jain, who lived on the fourth floor with his wife and son, ran a restaurant in East Delhi. His younger son had travelled to Ujjain a day earlier.
Shikha Jain, who lived on the second floor, is survived by her husband Naveen and their two daughters. Naveen sustained 30 per cent burn injuries on his hands and face and is currently admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.
Gurdeep Singh Gill, a neighbour living in the adjacent house, said the Fire Brigade had arrived soon, but residents living at the rear of the building were trapped. Gill and other neighbours helped in the rescue operations.
“Families living in the front portion were rescued with the help of ladders and platforms brought by the fire officials. We also placed bed cushions on the ground, and Shikha Jain’s two teenage daughters jumped on to them before the fire spread further,” Gill said.
Silky, a resident of the fourth floor, told The Indian Express that she lives in a flat in the front of the building with her husband, two children, and in-laws. “All of us were at home. The Fire Department’s crane arrived in time, and we were rescued. We are traumatised,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) R P Meena said that a case under relevant sections had been registered against unknown persons and investigations were underway.
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