Inflammable material in basement, traffic, repair work: Report flags challenges faced in fighting blaze at Palam house that killed 9

Nine members of a family, including a 70-year-old woman and three of her granddaughters, were killed after a massive fire tore through the building. The building is owned by AAP member Rajender Kashyap, who ran a cosmetics shop in the basement. He was not in Delhi at the time of the incident. Ever since the incident happened, the AAP has accused the BJP government for lapses in the firefighting system.

As per the report, the entire lane leading towards the building was having a haphazard layout of cables, which affected the movement of firefighting equipment, including the Bronto Sky lift, hindered operations and the flames spread from basement to ground to terrace level which was not accessible from outside of the building. Highly inflammable materials like garments, cosmetics, thinner, nail polish, perfumes etc were stored in the basement of the building, it said.

Due to intense heat and smoke, the report said, the firefighters could not enter the building but efforts were made by making holes in the wall. Then, firefighters successfully forcibly entered the third floor with hoses and branches. “The first respondent also reported that there was a traffic jam on the road near the site due to digging and repair work carried out by the Delhi Jal Board. The fire units face difficulty in easy maneuverability at the fire scene,” the report reads.

It also added that a mob was present at the site and helping but somehow, few people “distracted the operation” by calling firefighters here and there to save their building.

In his remarks at the Assembly, the Home Minister listed our a several fire incidents took place in the past years — like Bawana Industrial area fire in January 2018, the Arpit Hotel fire in February 2019, Anaj Mandi fire in 2019 — when AAP was in power and said the previous government had “passing the buck” attitude.

“None of us said that the building (in Palam) belonged to an AAP leader…We did not say that an AAP leader had stored inflammable material in the basement. Passing the buck may have been the practice earlier, but we take responsibility,” said Sood.

He also alleged that over the past 11 years, no serious effort was made to reform fire safety rules in mixed land-use areas or strengthen fire preparedness in unauthorised colonies, where fire tenders cannot even enter.

“Let me inform you… in 2015-16, only Rs 4.72 crore was spent on capital expenditure for the Fire department; Rs 8 crore in 2016-17; Rs 5 crore in 2018-19; Rs 20 crore in 2021-22. With such minimal investment, how could the system be strengthened?,” he asked, adding that his government allocated Rs 180 crore for modernising DFS.

He also said that it is shocking that a wireless communication system given in 1969 is still in use. “Once a fire engine leaves, there is no proper communication until it reaches the site. Firefighters often rely on personal phones, which fail in such conditions,” he said, adding,”In the last six months, our government has initiated work a new communication network and command center, 50 quick response vehicles established.”

He said a committee recommended procurement. Despite approvals, delays, currency issues, and inaction meant it was never procured till 2025, Sood said.