new delhi: A fire broke out in a slum cluster in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj area in the early hours of Friday, gutting 14 shanties and injuring three people, one of whom was hurt while trying to save two children trapped in one of the slum dwellings during the fire. The injured were identified as 35-year-old Mukesh and two children aged four and two. The fire was reported at 2:45 am and nine fire tenders were pressed into action, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said the fire broke out in a garbage heap near the shanties. A total of 14 shanties were gutted in the blaze, which was later brought under control. Mukesh was injured while trying to save the two children, police
said. Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Services said that 17 huts were on fire and three people sustained minor burn injuries and were taken to Safdarjung Hospital. The victims were identified as Sandhya (5), Shivam (1.5) and Mukesh (25).
"We received a call around 2.43 am about the fire in Rangpuri. Around 10 fire tenders were rushed to the site," the fire department said.
Sources said it is probed how the fire started. Various angles being probed include garbage heap catching fire from a cigarette. According to DFS, the materials used for constructions of JJ cluster are highly combustible and produce toxic gasses when they come in contact with fire. These areas are also providing space for storage of huge quantities of waste rags, chemicals, plastic, PVC, and unsystematic layout leads to the entire area being consumed in fire in a very short period of time.