Smoke, panic, deaths in Delhi’s Shastri Park

The building is constructed over a 100-square yard plot at a walking distance from the Shastri Park fish market. On each of the four floors are three rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen in a row, connected by a narrow gallery with a staircase on both ends

Six people were killed and five injured in a fire that broke out in a congested four-storey building occupied by around three dozen people in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park on Friday morning, police said, adding that prima facie the cause appeared to be a mosquito coil that toppled onto a mattress, setting it ablaze, on the ground floor.

Police personnel outside the house where six people of a family died due to asphyxiation in Shastri Park, Delhi, on Friday. According to police,the cause appeared to be a mosquito coil that toppled onto a mattress, setting it ablaze, on the ground floor. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

Police said the upper floors of the largely non-ventilated building were soon engulfed in dense smoke.

“The toxic fumes left the occupants unconscious, and some of them died,” deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said, adding that a case of causing death due to negligence was registered at Shastri Park police station. The officer said that there was no immediate reason to suspect any foul play.

For several minutes after the fire broke out around 8am, relatives and neighbours wearing clothes and masks drenched in water made valiant efforts to rescue those trapped inside, eyewitnesses said. Eventually, they said they were able to save 15-18 people, while six occupants (from five families), including a three-year-old boy Hamza and a newly married couple, Dinesh and Nisha, who were expecting, succumbed to the smoke. Police identified the other dead people as rickshaw-pullers Pashirul and Fazlu Choudhary and a sixth man, Zahiuddin, whose details are yet to be ascertained. Police said that two of the five injured continue to be hospitalised for burn injuries while three others have been discharged.

“On Friday, most of us slept at 6am after starting our roza (fast during the month of Ramzan). We would have woken up by afternoon,” said Shabana, wife of Akbar Ali, one of the six brothers who own this house. On the upper floors, some tenants were sleeping while others were either listening to music or having tea when the fire broke out a little after 8am in the middle of the three rooms on the ground floor.

“Before sleeping, I lit a mosquito coil and placed it on the floor. Around 8am, my 18-month-old son’s cries woke me up. The coil had toppled onto the mattress, setting it afire,” said Sumaira Begum, wife of Anna, one of the co-owners, who is in jail.

Sumaira said she first ran upstairs to alert the occupants and seek help. “But some of them got scared and bolted their rooms from inside to escape the flames. So, I began banging the door of my brother-in-law, Akbar, who lives in an adjacent room.”

“I tried to douse the fire using water from the bathroom, but the flames only flared up,” said Akbar.

As Sumaira rushed out with her son, Akbar first focused on saving his six children who were all on the ground floor. In the meantime, dense smoke began spreading to the upper floors through the staircases.

Outside the building, locals switched on motors and used hosepipes to fight the fire.

“For some reason, all those trapped inside were only trying to escape through the front staircase. No one tried to escape through the roof, or use the rear staircase which was less affected by the smoke and was a better escape route,” said Akbar. However, one or two tenants did use the terrace to make it to safety.

After an initial hesitation, two-three men made a dash for the people trapped inside. “We first focused on the children, and then the adults. We carried the children in our arms, and dragged or pushed reluctant and scared adults through the stairs,” said Akbar’s friend and neighbour, Feroze Khan.

Taju Das, a tenant, said he and others panicked on seeing smoke engulf the building. “When I realised I had no chance, I just took God’s name and jumped through the flames and smoke,” said Das, who was eventually pulled to safety by the rescuers.

The rescuers said they continued the rescue operation until their lungs could take no more smoke. “We brought out 15-20 people from inside. Five of them were dead,” said Akbar’s younger brother, Haseen.

The police said that it was not the flames, but the smoke that killed the people. “The smoke from the fire in the ground floor spread to all the floors above. Occupants eventually died of asphyxiation due to lack of ventilation,” said the DCP, adding that the autopsies were yet to be conducted.

Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Service (DFS), said that his department sent three fire tenders to the spot after receiving a call. “The fire in itself was small, the deaths occurred due to inhalation of smoke,” said Garg.

The fire department arrived at the scene after much of the tragedy unfolded and brought out the sixth body, said eyewitnesses.

As the neighbourhood plunged into gloom, Sumaira said, “Everyone is blaming me for being careless. Why will anyone burn their own house?”