Water Shortage, Overhead Wires: Firefighters Struggle To Douse Delhi Fire

Lack of water, low-hanging electricity wires and the problem of onlookers who get in the way of rescue operations; these are some of the challenges that firefighters faced while trying to douse a blaze in an east Delhi building on Tuesday that claimed the life of a woman.

A major fire broke out at a five-storey building in East Delhi's Shakarpur killing a 40-year-old woman, Anita. Twenty-five people were rescued by the Delhi Fire Service.

"After getting message at around 1.05 am, we initially sent three fire vehicles to the location. As the fire was major five more fire engines were pressed into service. Later, more than 20 fire engines were rushed to the spot as the flames engulfed the entire left side of the building," Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg told PTI.

The major challenges the DFS had to face was that there was no water source at the spot so fire vehicles struggled to refill.

"A large number of people thronged to the location just to see that what is happening. Our teams had to repeatedly request people to give them space so that they could rescue people and rush them to nearby hospitals," Garg said.

"Low lying electricity wires, electricity lightings due to Diwali festival and narrow streets are also major problems we faced during our rescue operation," the DFS chief said.

He added that another major problem the fire department faces is traffic. But since the Shakarpur incident happened late at night, there was no traffic on the street, Garg said.

"Beside that spectators must understand that in emergency conditions like fire they must stay away as firefighters need proper space to help others. In such conditions, LPG cylinders can also blow and the fire can engulf the entire area. These locations are densely populated and people's safety too is a concern," Garg added.

Initial inquiry revealed that a fire broke out due to a short circuit in the parking area on the ground floor. According to the police, the fire started in the building's parking area in the early hours of Tuesday and soon engulfed the entire structure.

Around five people jumped from the balcony in panic to save their lives. A man, Naresh Nagar, suffered a fracture in his leg after jumping off the first floor of the burning building.

Police have registered an FIR in connection with the incident and launched an investigation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)