Killer Negligence

AT LEAST 43 people died and 16 were injured in a fire that swept early Sunday morning through an illegal factory in north Delhi, making it the second most deadly fire in Capital’s history, according to fire department officials.

- Chayyanika Nigam

The four-story building in the cramped, commercial Anaj Mandi neighbourhood was packed with sleeping labourers when the fire broke out. The fire that broke out at 5 am on the second floor of the building was reported at 5:20 am and took over 150 firefighters involving 50 fire engines nearly four hours to douse.

The area is a classic example of factories and small manufacturing units operating from old, cramped quarters and in blatant disregard for the fire safety and municipal norms. Less than 24 hours before the Sunday’s blaze, a fire broke out at the fourth floor of a similar illegal factory barely 200 metres away from this building.

Fire officials claim that they received fire calls quite often from the area. However, the concerned authorities didn’t take any action against the illegal factories being run in the narrow lanes where it is difficult for even a single vehicle to pass through.

Chief fire officer Atul Garg said firefighters initially struggled to douse the flames because narrow lanes blocked access to the building. “This is the second biggest fire in Delhi’s history,” he said.

Garg said the factory was operating in a residential area and there were no fire safety provisions. Police said most of the deceased were migrant workers from Bihar who lived in the factory, which manufactured school bags and purses. At the time of the incident, workers were sleeping inside the building that was locked from inside. Many of them called their friends, family and relatives to have the last word and informed that they will die in the fire as there is no way out.