New Delhi: Two people, including a 65-year-old man, died possibly due to suffocation after a fire broke out at a furniture godown in west Delhi's Kirti Nagar on Sunday.
The fire department received a call around 4.25 am about the blaze at the godown. Six fire tenders and 36 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. The fire had broken out on the roof of two buildings.
Police said the premises were thoroughly checked, and it was found that the door of a room was locked from the inside. "It was forced open and two people were found dead. They apparently succumbed to death due to suffocation," police said.
The deceased were identified as Atul Rai (45), a resident of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who worked as a labourer at the site and used to sleep there, and Nand Kishore Dube (65), a native of Gaya in Bihar, a rickshaw puller. "A forensic science lab team has been called to the scene to ascertain the cause of the fire. Legal action will be initiated accordingly," a senior police officer said.
The firefighting team, led by station officer Batti Lal Meena, faced a challenging situation. They received the information late (over an hour) about two individuals trapped inside the burning building, unresponsive to phone calls.
Upon receiving information, the team shifted their focus to rescue operations along with firefighting. They identified a locked door as the potential location of the victims. Forcefully breaking through the barrier, the firefighters discovered a grim scene. One body was found lifeless on a bed, while the other lay motionless on the floor.
The absence of fire safety measures and the presence of a single escape route significantly hindered the rescue efforts. Additionally, the abundance of combustible materials within the building exacerbated the fire's intensity, further complicating the firefighting operations.