Two suffocated to death in crockery factory fire

New Delhi: Two labourers died after a fire broke out inside a crockery factory in Nawada area of Dwarka district. Police claimed that initial investigation suggests that the reason behind the incident can be short circuit and the reason behind the death can be asphyxiation. Eyewitness claimed that the door was locked from outside and the victims were unable to escape. Shockingly, in two weeks four such cases have taken place in the city in which more than 10 people have lost their lives in the blaze.

Chief Fire Officer (DFS) Atul Garg stated that they received the information of fire around 10.50 pm on Monday at House number 662 near Metro pillar number 707 in Nawada village. By 12.05 am, the fire was extinguished. Three persons were taken out from the spot out of which two were declared brought dead. The deceased were identified as Satinder Kumar (35) and Arvind Kumar (39). They were the native of Nawada in Bihar and were living in the Nawada area of Dwarka district. They were working in the crockery factory. One person was also injured and he was identified as Chandan. "The fire broke out in a crockery making factory, which was approximately 200 square yards. Fire tenders faced difficulty in reaching the spot due to a weekly market. The factory is situated along a narrow street," said Garg.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Shibesh Singh told the Millennium Post that they have registered a case against the owner of the factory and is investigating the reason behind the fire. "We suspect that the fire started from the main switch and combustible substances were kept nearby which acted as a catalyst and the building caught fire. The investigation is going on from all angles," said the DCP, adding that asphyxiation can be the reason behind the death.

An eyewitness told the Millennium Post that at the time of the incident, there was no electricity in the area. Suddenly, when the electricity came and they heard labourers working in the nearby factory shouting for help. "There was a power cut in the area and when the electricity came, there were some sparks. There were empty cartons kept outside that caught fire and in a few seconds, the front portion of the factory was in flames," he recalled.

The eyewitness further claimed that the gate of the factory was locked from outside and they broke the lock. The fire department claimed that due to the congested area, fire tenders faced problem in reaching the spot. On Friday, four persons of the same family including two children were killed in a fire which took place in their residence in Kohat Enclave area of North West Delhi. Last week on Monday, five persons were killed in two separate fires at a shoe-manufacturing unit in Delhi's Sultanpuri and Chandni Chowk.

New Delhi: For the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) last year was a busy year as the fire service responded to 29,423 calls at 61 fire stations. The fire department claimed that more than 300 persons lost their lives in different incidents in the city. The data accessed by the Millennium Post claimed that in the year 2017-18, they received more than 29,000 calls of different incidents in which 1,767 persons were injured and 318 died.

The incident includes fire death, sewer death, road accidents, drowning and building collapse. The data further claimed that there was 24 medium fires and four serious fires. In 2016-2017, DFS received 30,285 calls in which 1,987 people were injured and 277 died. The fire service dealt with 20 medium fire and six major fire calls.

At present, Delhi Fire Service has 61 fire stations including Vasant Kunj and Civic Centre. In order to reduce the response time, a target of 72 fire stations (including 2 non-planned fire station i.e. Delhi Secretariat and Udyog Nagar) was planned during the 12th Five-year plan.

Delhi Fire Service provides fire safety cover to NCT of Delhi in an area of about 1,483 sq km. Besides this, their resources are also deployed to manage devastating fires and emergencies out of NCT on the demand of NDMA and competent authority. "Our main motive is to reach the spot as soon as possible. We just want to increase our reaction time," said the official. Delhi Fire Service also responded to 13 foreign fire calls during 2017-18. In order to create awareness on fire safety, evacuation drills in high-rise buildings were organized in different parts of Delhi.