Delhi: Fire Erupts At Girls' PG In Mukherjee Nagar, 35 Rescued

Thirty-five people were rescued from a massive fire that broke out at a PG hostel in Northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar on September 27. The massive fire broke out late in the evening from a four-storeyed girls' PG due to a short circuit in the electric meter box in the parking lot.

Of the 34 girls and a four-year-old child who were trapped inside, five were injured and immediately sent to the hospital for treatment. 

20 fire tenders were rushed to the scene, however, due to congested lanes and traffic only eight could reach the spot and it took almost two hours to extinguish the blazing fire post the rescue operation.  

Massive Fire Erupts At A Girls' PG 

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief, Atul Garg said they received a call around 7:46 pm late evening from the Signature Apartment which is a paying guest accommodation for girls in Mukherjee Nagar, as per reports. He informed the media that the fire was extinguished completely by 9:18 pm. 

According to the officials, the reason for the fire breaking out seemed to be the faulty electric meter board installed in the parking lot near the stairs of the PG and spread to the upper ground floor and then to the three floors above it blazing out of the terrace, said Garg. 

Northwest DCP, Jitendra Meena said prima facie that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the electric meter board of the building in which 35 girls were trapped.

Delhi's Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal said on his X handle that he is constantly keeping an eye on the incident. 

मुखर्जी नगर इलाक़े के पीजी में आग लगने की ये घटना बेहद दुखद है। ज़िला प्रशासन और दमकल विभाग को निर्देश दिए हैं कि पीजी में मौजूद बच्चों को जल्द से जल्द सुरक्षित बाहर निकालें। मैं लगातार इस पर नज़र बनाए हूँ। https://t.co/mxn6a407UW

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 27, 2023

Garg claimed the casualties were averted due to the prompt actions of the firefighters' team as around 80 firefighters were present at the site of the incident. Garg said due to the traffic and congested area it was difficult for the team to reach the spot, however, the team reached the spot within 10 minutes after the incident. 

He also mentioned that they have given written requests to electricity providers multiple times to not install electricity boards inside the residential buildings, especially not near the staircase, as it blocks the evacuating medium in case a fire breaks out. 

The incident took place a day after the Municipal Corporation Of Delhi (MCD) mezzanine floors and basements of around 20 coaching institutes of Mukherjee Nagar on Tuesday after the HC's orders for fire safety measures. The MCD officials after the PG incident said that many PGs operate in violation of the rules of the MPD 2021 provisions.

In June this year, in a similar incident from Mukherjee Nagar, around 61 students were injured trying to escape a commercial building of four floors that was occupied by hundreds as fire broke out on the ground floor of the building. 

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