Four of family killed as fire guts house in Pitampura

A couple and their two kids died after a fire broke out at a four-storey building in north-west Delhi’s Kohat Enclave, Pitampura, early on Friday.

“We have registered an FIR under IPC Section 304 A [causing death by negligence] against the builder. The building does not have complete fire safety measures, including escape route,” said Aslam Khan, DCP (North-West).

Rakesh Nagpal (35), his wife Tina (30), their son Himanshu (10) and daughter Shreya (4) died due to suffocation after they were trapped in their flat on the first floor, said the police.

“They died due to suffocation. Three other residents of the building were injured. They were taken to Ambedkar Hospital and discharged after first aid,” said a police officer. The fire erupted around 2.40 a.m. on the ground floor, which was used as a parking area.

Due to a short circuit, the doorbell of the flat on the third floor started ringing and woke up the senior citizens living there. They noticed the smoke and the smell of burning rubber.

Residents alerted

The couple woke up other members off the family and they made their way down the building. As they went down, they rang the bells of other flats and alerted the other residents of the fire.

The Nagpal family, however, did not respond to doorbells or phone calls, said the police. By the time the victims realised the situation, they could not escape and were trapped.

“We got a call at 2.56 a.m. Within a few minutes, four police vans and two ambulances were at the spot to help the victims. Trapped residents were rescued safely. It was unfortunate that a family died,” said Ms. Khan.

The fire raged for two hours before it was doused. Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot to battle the blaze, said the police. Five cars, five scooties and two motorcycles parked on the ground floor of the building were gutted in the fire, added Ms. Khan.

‘No delay in response’

“The bodies of the victims were handed over to family members after post-mortem. A forensic team has inspected the building and collected samples to find the cause of the fire. We will also find out if there was any delay in rescue operation,” said a senior police officer.

Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg refuted allegations of delay in fire service assistance. He claimed the first fire engine was at the site at 2.50 a.m. and another engine reached at 3.10 a.m. “There was no lapse on our part. The initial call received informed about fire in the electricity meter and a single engine was sent. Later, fire officials asked for more fire engines and it was supplied,” said Mr. Garg

‘Fire not from meters’

However, discom Tata Power claimed the fire was triggered due to electrical fittings installed near the electricity meters and not from the meters themselves.