Delhi: Two elderly woman die in fire at Greater Kailash care home

Two women aged 86 years and 92 years were charred to death while many others suffered injuries, when a fire broke out at a care home for senior citizens in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash 2 early Sunday early morning, police said

Two women aged 86 years and 92 years were charred to death while many others suffered injuries, when a fire broke out at a care home for senior citizens in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash 2 early Sunday early morning, police said.

The care home for elderly where two inmates died after a fire broke out on the second floor of the building in early hours of the morning at Greater Kailash Part 2 on Sunday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

During the rescue operation, fire fighters rescued seven residents of which one has been shifted to a city hospital for treatment, the police said.

A senior officer from the CR Park police station who was part of the rescue team said that the police were informed about the fire 5.10am. A passerby alerted a nearby police picket about a fire at the Antara Care Homes for Seniors. “In the next 10 minutes, the police team and the locals reached the spot. Since it was impossible to enter the building from the front gate, the police entered the four-storey building from the fire exit. While a massive blaze was going on at the third floor, the other floors were filled with smoke. Barring the security staff, no other staff of the care home was present at the spot,” the officer said, asking not to be named.

He added that front glass of the building had been coming off due to fire and heat. “Meanwhile, fire tenders reached the spot and controlled the fire. This is one of the costliest care homes in Delhi and NCR for elderly persons, where average monthly charge is at least ₹1.5 lakh for a normal senior occupant, who has no major ailments. The occupant has to pay additional charges for attendant and medicines,” the police officer said.

Fire department officials said the fire started on the second floor at 5am. “Five fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot. The fire was completely doused within one and a half hours,” said a fire department official.

Chandan Chowdhary, the deputy commissioner of police (south) also said five fire tenders and a CATS ambulance were at the spot. “After the fire was doused, two burnt bodies were recovered from the building. One of the rescued persons was shifted to the Max hospital and others were taken to Antara’s another branch in Jasola. The deceased were later identified as Kanchan Arora (86) of CR Park area and Kamal (92) of Noida. The crime team and forensic experts also reached the spot. They will help us in ascertaining the cause of fire. Meanwhile, an FIR under sections 285, 337 and 304 of the IPC has been registered against unknown persons at CR Park police station,” she said.

When contacted, a spokesperson of Antara Care Homes for Seniors, said that a fire incident occurred early this morning on the third floor. “The building has all requisite approvals from the fire department and it has all necessary fire-fighting equipment and appliances, including designated number of fire extinguishers on every floor, appropriate fire extinguishing equipment and access to water for the hose wheel,” she said.

She further said that 15 residents and 3 companions were present inside the building at the time of incident. “Besides, there were 12 staff on residents’ duty, five in-house team members (in the rooms of the residents) and one security guard. The care home has 32 rooms with 38 beds. After the incident, one resident was shifted to hospital (who is now stable), nine to Jasola Care Home, and three went to their homes. Out of the nine in Jasola, seven are now being moved to our other centre in Gurugram,” she said.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the incident, Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal issued a notice to the Delhi police seeking details of the incident, and sought an action taken report. She has also asked the police to probe whether the administration followed the mandatory fire safety norms or not.