- Only one staircase and no emergency exit hindered evacuation in Delhi fire
- Iron grills and locked terrace door blocked escape routes in the residential building
- Fire spread rapidly from the rear, trapping residents in smoke-filled corridors
Iron grills on one side and a lock on the terrace led to many residents in a Delhi residential building having no escape routes as a massive fire spread rapidly, resulting in nine deaths.
What became a major hindrance in the evacuation of many residents from the Vivek Vihar building on Sunday was the very floor plan. In the basement plus four-storey building, there is only one staircase route and no emergency exit. The two flats on each floor are designed such that one lies at the front of the building and another at the rear.
As the fire spread through the rear side of the building, jumping from the back became impossible due to the grills. The front opening of the rear flats became difficult to access as the fire had already spread there. Though some managed to brave their way through the part and rushed to find their way to the terrace, the door was locked, leaving no possible route of evacuation.
Stranded amid rising heat and smoke, many were suffocated to death.
A visit to the site by NDTV also found that the fire, which broke out around 3.30 am when most residents were asleep, had spread to the adjacent building. This was made easier by the lack of gap between the two buildings.
Families described the horror, recalling loud cries for help from the people and children trapped inside their homes. Two children also tried to jump from the front of the building, eyewitnesses said.
Police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot and start firefighting and rescue operations as blaze ripped through the second third and fourth floors of the building.
Among the nine people from two families who died was toddler. "One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," a Delhi Fire Services officer told PTI.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
Police said efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, a resident named Rohit told ANI that Rohit a blast in an air-conditioner led to the horrific incident.
