Neighbour saves 8 of a family from fire in Delhi, dies a hero’s death

While Sanchal and his son were fighting fire at the ground floor of the five-storey building, a cylinder exploded. Glass and metal pieces hit Sanchal on his neck. He was declared brought dead at a nearby hospital.

He was sleeping when a fire broke out at the ground floor of an adjacent building on early Tuesday. The fire brigade was late. Every minute was important.

Satbir Sanchal, who died after saving eight lives. (Picture: Sourced)

Fifty-four-year old Satbir Sanchal was sleeping. When he heard the screams outside, he wasted no time to step out and help his neighbours. Sanchal saved the lives of at least eight members of a family but died a hero’s death.

At 2.10pm on Tuesday, a fire broke out in the ground floor of a private diagnostic centre, next to Sanchal’s house in Trinagar in northwest Delhi. The building owner Rajesh Gupta had taken his family to the top floor to escape the flames.

Gupta had sent an SOS call to the fire department but the fire fighters had not yet arrived. Sanchal, owner of a fire extinguisher shop, rushed to help. He brought four extinguishers from his godown and rushed to the spot with his son Akshay.

“My father asked me to get more extinguishers. The fire tenders had not arrived. They were late. I went back and got eight more extinguishers,” Akshay told HT

While Sanchal and his son were fighting fire at the ground floor of the five-storey building, a cylinder exploded. Glass and metal pieces hit Sanchal on his neck. He was declared brought dead at a nearby hospital.

The house that caught at Trinagar.

“My brother should be given a bravery award. He was the most helpful person in the locality. It was always in his nature to think about others and then himself. The locality will always remember him,” his brother Virender said.

Fire department officials said they received a call at around 2.37pm and reached the spot within 10-15 minutes. The fire was brought under control around 5.15pm by two fire tenders.

Police said the fire was a result of short circuit after which an oxygen cylinder inside the diagnostic centre had exploded.

Sanchal is survived by his wife, son and daughter. Police said forensic teams have collected samples from the ground floor and are probing the nature of explosion.

An officer said police would probe if the owner of the diagnostic centre had taken all security requirements to run the centre from below his house