Owner of a hosiery unit was asphyxiated in a bid to douse the fire that broke out at YM Sachdeva Hosiery at Bajwa Nagar on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Mulk Raj Sachdeva, 62, of Bajwa Nagar. The Daresi police have sent the body to the civil hospital for a post-mortem
examination.
The firefighters doused the flames after a struggle of 40 minutes. The reason behind the fire has not been ascertained, but it is being suspected that the fire broke out due to short circuit.
The incident took place around 2 pm and Mulkh Raj was present in the factory, which is situated on the ground floor of his residence. He immediately raised the alarm and alerted his family which was present on the upper floor. All family members ran out of the building.
The fire brigade took some time to reach the spot due to narrow and congested streets.
Meanwhile, Mulkh Raj Sachdeva entered into the building through the neighbour's roof to douse the flames.
When the firefighters rescued him, he was dead.
According to sub-inspector Sanjiv Kapoor, Mulkh Raj was a heart patient and there is a possibility that he died of a cardiac arrest due to suffocation.