Fire officials said they did not receive the call about the incident on time. “This is not the first time that we have received a call late. After we reached the site, the building was engulfed in smoke," said an official.
The malfunctioning of a hydraulic crane during the firefighting operation at a residential building in Southwest Delhi’s Palam on Wednesday has yet again raised questions over the preparedness of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS). Moments after successfully pulling a person to safety, the hydraulic fire tender developed a technical snag — reportedly triggered by low hanging electric wires in the locality — interfering with its sensors and bringing the operation to a sudden halt, raising fresh concerns over the upkeep of such life-saving equipment. Nine of a family were killed in the blaze.
The Delhi government has warned of strict action against erring DFS officers, officials said on Thursday. “CM Rekha Gupta has already ordered for a magisterial enquiry in the fire incident. The response time and measures are under probe and strict action will be taken against lapses,” said a senior official in Delhi government. Meanwhile, Home Minister Ashish Sood also launched a city-wide fire safety mission on Thursday as he said that “we are ending the era of blind spots in the city”.
