Three members of a family killed and several injured in a late-night residential blaze at Tughlakabad Extension; fire reportedly spread from ground-floor parking area.

NEW DELHI — A devastating late-night fire ripped through a five-storey residential building in Southeast Delhi’s Tughlakabad Extension area early Friday morning, leaving three members of a family dead and several others injured. The fire, which initial inquiries suggest was triggered by an electrical short circuit on the ground floor, quickly engulfed seven parked two-wheelers, turning the building's stilt parking area into a raging inferno within minutes.

The emergency calls started flooding the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) control room between 2:35 am and 2:37 am. As thick smoke billowed through the narrow alleyways of Gali Number 1 near the Naya Tara Apartments, trapped residents began screaming for help from their balconies.

Blown short circuit triggers panic

According to local authorities, the building comprises a stilt parking ground floor and five upper storeys. Preliminary assessments point toward an electrical short circuit on the ground floor that instantly caught an electric scooter being charged overnight. The flames then rapidly spread to other parked vehicles, including three scooters, two motorcycles, and a bicycle.

"I woke up after hearing loud cries for help and rushed outside," said Rajender Kumar, an eyewitness living in the adjacent lane. "I saw that the fire was concentrated in the parked two-wheelers inside the building, but the heavy smoke spread upwards with frightening speed."

Local heroism amid heavy smoke

With the structure lacking adequate ventilation, toxic smoke quickly filled the internal staircase, cutting off the primary escape route for the occupants. Before emergency teams arrived, local residents formed a human chain, carrying buckets of water to assist those on the lower floors.

One resident on the second floor reportedly tied his wife’s saree to a balcony railing to climb down, while neighbours gathered below to break his fall with their bare hands. Others used wooden ladders from a nearby shorter building to access the upper floors, using rocks to shatter locked terrace gates and puncturing water tanks to suppress the thick fumes.

Blocked terrace forces desperate rescue

The Delhi Fire Service deployed multiple units to the site, including three water tenders, two water bowsers, a breathing support unit, and a Quick Response Vehicle. However, operations were severely hampered by the highly congested, narrow lanes characteristic of the Govindpuri and Tughlakabad extensions.

Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO) Yashwant Singh Meena, who led the operations alongside Station Training Officer Mukul Bhardwaj, stated that fire crews had to break open a heavy lock on the terrace gate to rescue two young girls who had taken refuge on the rooftop. A total of eight occupants were evacuated from the building during the operation and rushed to nearby hospitals via CATS ambulances.

The deceased have been identified as Pankaj (28), his mother Guddi (50), and his sister Soni (20), who lived on the third floor. Two other family members, including an elderly 70-year-old grandmother, remain in critical condition at the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 3:45 am, issuing a final completion message at 4:00 am.

Recurring structural safety concerns

The tragedy at Tughlakabad Extension marks the second major structural fire incident in Delhi within a ten-day window, reigniting intense public debate over systemic violations of residential building bylaws in the national capital.

On June 3, a massive blaze tore through the Flourish Stay Hotel in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani area, claiming 23 lives. Investigations into that incident revealed that the property was operating 25 guest rooms despite being licensed for only six rooms under the Silver Category Bed & Breakfast scheme.

Municipal authorities have vowed a thorough investigation into the Tughlakabad building's layout, specifically targeting the lack of mandatory ventilation shafts and fire safety clearances in dense residential clusters. Police personnel from the Govindpuri police station have initiated a detailed forensic inquiry to confirm the exact source of the Friday morning blaze.