Delhi Metro Techie, Wife and 9-Year-Old Daughter Die After Fire Breakout in DMRC Quarters – What Happened?

New Delhi: A pall of grief enveloped north Delhi on Tuesday as relatives gathered outside the mortuary of Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital to collect the bodies of a family of three who died in a devastating fire at their official residence in the early hours of the morning.,The blaze erupted on the fifth floor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Staff Quarters near Majlis Park, claiming the lives of Ajay Vimal (44), an assistant sub-section engineer with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, his wife Neelam Vimal (43), and their nine-year-old daughter Anvi Vimal.,According to the Delhi Fire Services, the first emergency call was received at 2.39 am, as per a TIE report. A family living on the floor below woke up after hearing glass shatter, followed by thick smoke rising from the flat above.,,Neighbours Tried to Break In,“The neighbours rushed upstairs and knocked on the door several times. When they heard no response from inside, they decided to try to break the door open,” said a DMRC official close to the family.,The rescue attempt was hampered because the flat had two entrance doors — a wooden door and a metal mesh door — both locked from the inside.,“While one person dialled 112 helpline, another used the emergency firefighting equipment kept in the hallway to try and douse the fire,” the official added.,Fire Localised to BedroomA fire tender reached the spot around 3 am and took nearly 30 minutes to extinguish the flames. Firefighters later found that the blaze was localised to the only bedroom in the flat.,The bodies of the three victims were found lying on the same bed, charred beyond recognition.,,“Preliminary indications suggest a possible explosion of a room heater,” said a senior police officer.,DMRC officials said it is likely that the heater was being used in a closed room, triggering a short circuit.,“The MCB (miniature circuit breaker) was triggered shut… there was no electricity in the house when the firefighters entered. So it’s possible that the heater caught fire and the smoke made it hard for the family to wake up…they must have suffocated to death before the fire spread,” the DMRC official said.,Family and Colleagues MournAjay Vimal had been associated with the DMRC since 2006 and was allotted the staff quarters in 2016. At the time of his death, he was posted at Barakhamba Metro Station. Neelam was a homemaker, while Anvi was a Class IV student.,Vimal’s elder brother and sister travelled from Aligarh and Noida respectively to the mortuary to complete the last rites.,Delhi Police said they are continuing investigations to determine the exact cause of the fire and reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the tragedy, even as the incident has once again raised concerns over the safe use of room heaters during winter months.,Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Delhi, Delhi Weather & AQI and around the world. Read more