2 killed in crockery factory fire

Two men died while another sustained critical injuries after a massive fire broke out in a crockery manufacturing factory in Southwest Delhi's Nawada Industrial area on Monday night. The firefighters said there was only one entry and exit door that too was locked by the factory owner. Since the door was locked from inside, the workers tried to save themselves by hiding in another room but perished due to asphyxiation.

Police said they suspect that the fire broke out due to some inflammable substances kept in the boxes. Police said that the deceased have been identified as Satender (35) and Arvind (29) while the injured Ranjan is undergoing treatment.

According to a senior fire department official, the fire broke out at the factory at around 10:30pm.  Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the flames were brought under control.

The factory owner, Randeep Verma, has been absconding since the incident. Police said that they have booked the factory owner under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Locals in the area told police that the Nawada Industrial area houses several such crockery factories.

A fire fighter said that they faced problem in reaching to the spot where the fire broke out because the lanes were too narrow. Apart from the narrow lanes, the main door of the building was locked and boxes were kept in front of it.

Ironically, in the Bawana fire tragedy which took 17 lives, a similar situation was faced by the labourers back then as the only door there too was locked from outside.

The two-storey building in Delhi's Bawana Industrial Area that caught fire on January 20, killing 17 people, had just one exit. The building, which had a basement, had at least 30 workers with just two fire extinguishers, which, according to Delhi Fire Service officials, was "grossly inadequate". The building also did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department.

"Ideally, there should be smoke detectors, alarms and water sprinklers in every floor of the building, including the basement. But none of it was there in the said building," said a senior Delhi Fire Service official.

The official said that the building had just one exit but industrial guidelines for fire safety say there should be an alternative exit at the back of every factory building. Apart from this, the entrance to the terrace should also be kept open at all times so that occupants can be rescued in case of any mishap.