Anaj Mandi Fire: Electric meters near staircases a hazard, finds fire dept probe

Director of Delhi Fire Service, Atul Garg, said they are in the process of writing letters highlighting the perils of installing meter boxes under staircases to all the power discoms as well as municipal corporations.

The Delhi Fire Service on Friday said they will write to all the power distribution companies operating in the National Capital to ensure that electricity meters are not installed under staircases of residential buildings.

Initial probe into the Anaj Mandi fire that claimed 43 lives last Sunday suggested that the blaze could have started from electric meters installed under a staircase on the second floor. (Sanchit Khanna / HT File)

The move comes after initial investigations into the Anaj Mandi fire — that claimed 43 lives last Sunday — suggested that the blaze could have started from electric meters installed under a staircase on the second floor, close to the only entry-exit point of the five-storey building.

Director of Delhi Fire Service, Atul Garg, said they are in the process of writing letters highlighting the perils of installing meter boxes under staircases to all the power discoms as well as municipal corporations.

Garg said, earlier this year, in fire incidents — like the one reported from Jamia Nagar in August where six people were killed and the one in Daryaganj in May where 18 people were rescued from a burning building — it had been noticed that people could not escape as the fire started from electricity meters installed under staircases.

“In a majority of cases, where fire starts in a meter box, we have seen that such meter boxes were installed at entrances under staircases. This proves fatal, as the ensuing blaze blocks the entrance of the building, leaving no escape route. We want electricity companies to take up an initiative to ensure that electricity meters are installed away from the only entrance of a building so that even if it catches fire, at least one escape route is clear,” Garg said.

On last Sunday, a five-storey building in north Delhi had caught fire claiming the lives of 43 people, who were trapped on the second, third and fourth floors. Seven minor boys were among the 43 killed. The fire fighters who rushed to the spot managed to rescue 20 people alive, 16 of whom were injured.

Police have so far arrested three men – Mohammad Rehan, his brother-in-law Suhail, both owners of portions of the building and Rehan’s manager Furkaan in the case. They are conducting raids to arrest the third owner of the building, Rehan’s brother, Mohammad Imran, who is absconding.

The trio on Friday produced in the office of a district magistrate, wherein their statements were independently recorded for a magisterial inquiry ordered by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior government officials said.

The three accused were escorted to the office of the district magistrate’s office by officers from Delhi Police’s crime branch, which is currently handling the case. The were produced around 11am and their statements recorded one after the other in the next six hours, said a Delhi government official.

The official further said, so far 12 of the survivors have testified and around 12 officials – representing the north Delhi municipal corporation, fire department, local police and labour and power departments of the Delhi government — have also got their statements recorded.

“The remaining testimonies are likely to take one more day. The objective is to ascertain the cause of fire, fix accountability and also red flag administrative and procedural lapses,” said the officer.

Municipality probes building’s origin

North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s standing committee chairman Jai Prakash said that a team led by deputy commissioner (City Sadar and Paharganj zone) Veditha Reddy inspected the Anaj Mandi area and the fire-hit building on Friday to ascertain when it was built and when it was converted into a commercial building.

He said that earlier the structure used to be a residential building and people used to live there.

He also said that the report of the probe committee, which was set up by the civic body a day after the fire incident, is likely to submit its report in a couple of days. Besides, the enforcement teams of the civic body also sealed 25 factories in Shatri Nagar, Basai Darapur and Anand Parbat areas.