To Escape House On Fire, Delhi Man Threw Toddler From 3rd Floor, Then Jumped

Nine members of a family, three of them children, died in today's fire tragedy at southwest Delhi's Palam. Businessman Rajender Kashyap lived in the four-storey building with his wife, five sons, a daughter, four daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren.

Officials have said the basement, ground floor, and first floor of the building housed a cloth and cosmetics showroom owned by Kashyap, who is also the head of the market committee. The family lived on the upper floors.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the adult victims and Rs 5 lakh for the children who died. Those who were injured will receive Rs 2 lakh.

Local residents said Kashyap was travelling for work, and his family members were at home when the fire began. Amid the dense smoke, members of Kashyap's family were waiting to be rescued. Around 20 fire engines, 11 ambulances, and teams from the National Disaster Response Force joined the rescue operation, and it took several hours to douse the flames.

The nine victims include Kashyap's 70-year-old wife Lado, his sons Pravesh (33) and Kamal (39), daughter Himanshi (22), daughters-in-law Ashu (35) and Deepika (28), and granddaughters, aged 15, six, and three.

Kashyap's son Anil (32) dropped his two-year-old daughter while trying to lower her to rescue workers, and then jumped to the ground. Both are under treatment. The youngest son, Sachin (29) jumped to an adjacent building to save himself and suffered around 25 per cent burn injuries. He, too, is under treatment.

A relative said one of Kashyap's sons was on a holiday to Shimla with his wife and children, and escaped the tragedy.

A Hydraulic Ladder Claim

Some eyewitnesses have claimed that a hydraulic ladder problem delayed the rescue operation. A fireman, however, said the ladder was not long enough, so they had to call for another.

The market association's general secretary, Mukesh Verma, told NDTV that Kashyap, one of his sons and his family were travelling when the tragedy struck. Asked about eyewitness accounts claiming the hydraulic ladder did not function properly, he said, "100 per cent, the ladder did not open for nearly 30 minutes. The family kept waiting for help."  

Mahesh Sharma, another eyewitness, said the fire began around 6.30 am. "The fire engine was here within 15 minutes. They first doused the flames on the lower floors. But as soon as they broke the shop shutters, the flames climbed high and dense smoke billowed," he said. He said those on the higher floors were waiting to be rescued on the balcony, but the firefighters could not reach them because the hydraulic ladder was not working. "Another hydraulic ladder-fitted fire engine reached about 40 minutes later. It was too late. If it had come on time, all of them could have been saved," he said. He said local residents did not intervene because the firefighters had arrived. "We thought they were experts, so we didn't intervene." 

A fireman, however, said the hydraulic ladder did not malfunction, but was not long enough to reach those trapped on the third floor.

A Disaster Waiting To Happen

It is suspected that a short circuit caused the fire. When NDTV visited the spot, it found a meter box with a danger sign on the ground floor of the building. The ground floor housed a shop and the first floor a godown. Kashyap lived with his five sons and their families on the second and third floors. Local residents say the fire started there and then spread to the upper floors. The building has only one entry and exit, despite being used for commercial purposes.

Gurpal Singh, an eyewitness, told news agency PTI that the fire spread quickly because the shop had large quantities of cosmetic products. "The shop used to sell perfumes and other beauty products, which are highly flammable. Within a few minutes, the fire spread from the ground floor to the third floor," Gurpal said. The alley is narrow, and overhead wires criss-cross, forming a canopy that impedes the movement of fire engines during a crisis.

Chief Minister Orders Probe

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy. In a post on X, the Chief Minister said she was "extremely distressed to learn about the unfortunate fire incident at a multi-story residential building at Palam". She said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.

The nine deaths across three generations have yet again pointed to how negligence can lead to disasters. Time and again, tragic fire incidents in the national capital have revealed a callous approach towards fire safety norms. In congested areas, little attention is paid to measures that would facilitate swift rescue during an emergency.