Ghaziabad: Couple killed in household fire

The immediate cause of fire is not known, but police suspect that it could be due to a short-circuit

A husband and wife were killed in a fire that broke out at their home in Farrukhnagar in Ghaziabad on Monday afternoon, senior police officers said, adding that although the two were rescued from the burning house and rushed to a hospital in Delhi, they succumbed to injuries during treatment.

The fire engulfed the ground floor and the couple got trapped inside, locals and police rushed them with severe burn injuries to a hospital in Delhi where they succumbed during treatment. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police identified the two deceased as Mohammad Irfan, 57, and his wife Samar Jahan, 55, who were the only ones at home when the fire broke out.

According to police, the fire erupted on the ground floor of the house -- its two upper stories are under construction.

“The fire engulfed the ground floor and the couple got trapped inside. Locals and police rushed them with severe burn injuries to a hospital in Delhi where they succumbed during treatment. The immediate cause of fire is not known, but we suspect that it could be due to a short-circuit. Since the area is a fireworks manufacturing hub of late, we are also trying to find if any fireworks’ material was stored at their home. We did not find any on the premises,” said Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (Shalimar Garden).

The fire department said they were alerted about the fire around 1.30pm.

“We rushed a fire tender to the incident site. By the time the fire personnel reached there, the fire was doused by locals and the two injured persons were rushed to Delhi,” said Rahul Pal, chief fire officer.

The police, after an initial investigation, said the two deceased stayed by themselves in the house.

“Their family members shifted to Saharanpur and are engaged in the manufacturing of fireworks. But, this activity was not carried out by the couple at their home and the activity is banned in National Capital Region on the orders of the court,” Gautam said.