The Hindu : New Delhi News : Senior firemen still critical

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 02, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Senior firemen still critical

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 1. Two of the 15 fire service officers who sustained burns and fractures while fighting a major fire in a plywood godown at Kirti Nagar in West Delhi in the early hours of Friday are stated to be in a serious but stable condition now. A Deputy Chief Fire Officer and two firemen had lost their lives during the operation.

The Chief Fire Officer, R.C. Sharma, said on Saturday that the Assistant Divisional Officer, Dharam Pal, was still in a critical condition as he had sustained head injuries and fractures in the jaw and other parts of his body. The lead-fireman, Ram Kishan, who sustained 70 per cent burns, is also serious. He is under observation at Sunder Lal Jain Hospital. Two other fire officials had to undergo operations.

Mr. Sharma said the fire had been doused but the debris had not been cleared from the site yet. "We will initiate an inquiry into the matter soon," he added.

Meanwhile, the West Delhi police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence against the godown owner, Kamal Khandelwal. However, he has not been arrested.

The fire that claimed the lives of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Surender Kumar, and the two firemen, Dalbir and Vijay Pal, broke out around 5-15 a.m.

As the blaze was of medium intensity, Mr. Kumar had also gone there to supervise the whole exercise. When they were cutting the shutters to make their way in, the entire structure suddenly came caved in.

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