Delhi Fire: Building had no fire clearance, safety tools, says DFS official

The building, which got engulfed in a massive fire on Sunday morning, had no fire clearance from Delhi Fire Service (DFS) and no fire safety equipment was found installed on the premises. Delhi Police has said the owner of the factory in Anaj Mandi, where the blaze killed 43 people, is currently absconding and an FIR has been registered against him.

"The building did not have fire clearance from DFS and no fire safety equipment were found installed in the premises," DFS chief Atul Garg confirmed."Rehan, the owner of the building against whom a case has been registered under section 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, is currently absconding," Delhi Police DCP North Monika Bhardwaj told media. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch, Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa said.

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The NDRF team that entered the Delhi building where at least 43 people died in a massive fire Sunday morning, said the building was filled with hazardous carbon monoxide. Most workers of the illegal manufacturing units that ran in the four-storey building in north Delhi's Anaj Mandi area died due to suffocation. After the Delhi Fire Service controlled the fire, the National Disaster Response Force searched the building for hazardous gases with gas detectors, said Aditya Pratap Singh, deputy commander, NDRF.

"We found carbon monoxide (CO). After which we searched the area manually. The entire third and fourth floor of the building was engulfed with smoke. The content of CO was more," he said. The hazardous gas has no odour or colour, is generally produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood do not burn fully. The NDRF deputy commander said his team found some windows at the building were sealed.

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"There was a room, where most of the workers were sleeping, which had only a single space for ventilation. The maximum number of workers were shifted from the third floor. Due to the burning of the materials present in the building, CO was formed, which explains the reason for high CO content," he said. 

Delhi factory fire

The fire incident was the second-worst in the city, since the 1997 Uphaar Cinema tragedy that claimed 59 lives. Around 62 people were taken out from the factory that caught fire in the wee hours on Sunday of which 43 have been declared dead. 34 have been confirmed dead in Lok Nayak Hospital, and 9 in Lady Hardinge Hospital. Soon after receiving the report, 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and to carry out rescue operations. Given the intensity of the fire, 10-12 more fire tenders were sent to the spot. The fire has been completely doused by the fire brigade team and all the persons have been evacuated from the site.

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(With agency inputs)