52-yr-old man killed after fire spreads from godown to residence in Delhi

A fire in west Delhi claimed the life of a 52-year-old man, while another fire in north Delhi injured five family members due to an LPG explosion.

The charred body of a 52-year-old man was recovered from his home in west Delhi’s Vishnu Garden on Monday after a fire that started in the godown spread to his room. The fire is suspected to have started due to a short circuit.

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Officials of the Delhi Fire Services said a call about the fire was received at 10 am. Firefighters along with three fire tenders rushed to the spot.

“The fire was in domestic articles and spread from a godown to the house. We had doused the fire within half an hour. During the cooling operation, we searched the godown and the house and a charred body was found. The family did not know the deceased was inside,” a senior fire officer said.

The deceased was identified as Sunil Kumar Ginotra and his body was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital for a post mortem examination.

District commissioner of police (west) Sharad Bhaskar Darade said, “As per the initial, the fire is suspected to have started due to a short circuit in the office/godown located on the ground floor of the premises. The deceased, who was alone at the time, succumbed to burn injuries on the spot. The godown belongs to the cousin of the deceased. The crime team inspected the site.”

Police said that no foul play has been found yet.

Meanwhile, another fire broke at a house in north Delhi’s Pratap Nagar where walls of the house collapsed due to the fire and five members of a family, including three children, sustained severe injuries. Police said the fire and collapse were due to the explosion of an LPG cylinder.

Delhi Fire Services said a call about the incident was received at 9:30 am from a colony in Kishan Ganj area near the Pratap Nagar metro station. They sent two fire tenders to the spot and the fire was doused in less than half an hour.

“It was an explosion after a gas leak from an LPG cylinder. The side walls of the kitchen and its adjacent room collapsed, resulting in the injuries. All five persons got injured, they were removed and taken to RML Hospital and Lok Nayak Hospital by PCR and DFS units” said a fire official.

Police said the PCR call about the explosion and collapse was received at 9:22 am.

“According to the information received, a gas cylinder explosion caused the fire, in which several people sustained burn injuries. Police and fire department teams promptly reached the spot. The fire was quickly brought under control; however, due to the intensity of the blast, three walls of a room collapsed,” said a senior police officer.

The victims — Hazrat (40), his wife Rushar (38) and their three children Hussain (7), Afia (6) and Chhote (5) — were found with multiple burn wounds.

“All of them were taken to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital for treatment. According to doctors, the three children are undergoing treatment and are in stable condition. The two adult victims have been referred to RML Hospital for further treatment. All injured persons are currently reported to be conscious,” added the police officer.

Police said they will question the family members later.