Delhi Tughlaqabad fire: Neighbours turn into heroes during midnight rescue

NEW DELHI: When flames ripped through a multi-storey residential building in Tughlaqabad on Thursday, which claimed lives of three, it was the residents themselves who became the first line of defence.

First responder who raised alarm

Sourabh Sharma (35) immediately called the fire department after hearing cries for help from the building. He guided PCR personnel and firefighters to the spot, helping speed up the rescue operation. Together with other neighbours, he helped prevent the flames from spreading further.He said, “It was around 2. 19am when my daughter, who was awake at the time, heard a woman on the top floor crying for help. I immediately called the fire department.

When I stepped outside, I saw a PCR van and guided them to the spot. Within 15 minutes, the fire brigade arrived.”

Teenager used sari to save life

Sharma's 16-year-old daughter spotted a man trapped on the second floor and quickly improvised an escape route. She got hold of her mother’s sari and threw it to the man, who tied it to the balcony and climbed down to safety.Her father said, “Thinking quickly, she threw her mother’s sari to him, which he tied to the balcony and used to climb down to safety.”

Man who cut through iron grilles

Vivek Singh (40) saw four women and a man trapped behind iron-grilled windows. Initially, he tried to break the grilles using sticks and a crowbar. As the attempts failed, he brought a grinder machine and cut through the iron bars and pulled the trapped residents into his house, sheltering them until they were safe.He said, “On the top floor of the building opposite my house, four women and a man were trapped, screaming for help.

Their windows were covered with iron grilles.”

Woman who turned water tanks into lifelines

Renu Bhutani (45) rushed to a neighbouring building with her son after learning about the fire. Together, they connected a ladder between terraces to access the affected building.The duo broke open water tank pipes to send water cascading down smoke-filled floors. They then entered the building, searched floor by floor and helped locate trapped residents. “We poured water on ourselves, got drenched, and then entered the building,” she said.

Witness accounts

Krish, who lives in an adjacent building, said trapped residents were flashing their phone lights from inside the smoke-filled apartments to indicate their location and seek help.“There was a woman saying she would jump. We kept trying to calm her down and convince her not to do it,” he said.He added that the heat and smoke made it nearly impossible to enter the building, as even the locks had melted and there was no alternative route to reach those trapped.Describing the scene at the spot, Prince Kashyap, another resident, said that minutes before the blaze strong winds were blowing and it had started to rain.“When people started screaming he assumed it was because it was raining but later he saw through the window, there was a stampedelike situation,” he said.Next to him was 45-year-old Ashish Rampal who said he saw one man and two girls coming out from another building