Why so many deaths in the Delhi fire tragedy?
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New Delhi: Fire tragedies and building collapses are not new to Delhi in the last many years.
But the inferno in West Delhi's Mundka area on May 13 was one of the deadliest in years.
27 people charred to death on a gutted four-storey building located near a metro station.
Fire incidents soar during the summers and Delhi Fire Services (DFS) receives frequently get SOS call from residents in the city, according to news agency IANS.
Rarely has the number of casualties been so high. Like ever, a short circuit is blamed for the inferno.
IANS finds multiple reasons behind the fire tragedy in the capital city.
The ill-fated building did not have the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department.
Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg reportedly said its owners never applied for one.
A Fire NOC confirms the building being complied with fire prevention and fire safety requirements prescribed in Rule 33 of the Delhi Fire Services Rules.
Following the incident, Manish Lakra, the owner of the building residing on the top floor, has gone absconding.
The building had Ground + three floors. At the time of the incident, most people were on the second floor.
The first floor housed a CCTV and router manufacturing company.
The fire first broke out on the first floor, later spreading to the other floors.
At the time of the incident, 100 people were attending a motivational speech event on the second floor.
Because of the plastic material on the first floor, the fire spread quickly alongside causing massive smoke inside the building.
"Burning of plastic always led to severe smoke during a fire incident," an official said.
People couldn't escape the building as all floors were connected to a narrow staircase.
A survivor was quoted as saying there was no way to escape after stairs had been in fire.
"The building had many flaws, including a single escape route which is the prime reason for so many casualties," Garg said.
As the smoke and fire reached the second floor, people panicked and started breaking the window glasses to escape the inferno, according to the report.
The fire was so intense even walls inside the building collapsed, making the rescue operation even more difficult. Besides, lots of smoke and hot weather added to the woes of the firemen.
Even before the firemen could arrive, the locals started the rescue operation after stopping a truck that was passing in the area.