Ropes, mattresses, bricks, bare hands: How locals fought to save hotel guests

NEW DELHI: Local traders, neighbours and labourers in the area were the first responders on Wednesday when the flames tore through Flourish Stay Bed and Breakfast. Bricks, ropes, mattresses, bedsheets and the burning will to help were what they had.

Standing in the lane where the fire broke out, Mansur showed videos he had recorded during the rescue. “The scene was horrifying. Through the smoke-filled windows, we could sometimes see hands banging against the glass. One moment they were visible, in the next moment they disappeared behind the thick smoke. We realised they were trapped because there were no balconies. We picked up bricks and started breaking the windows. Once the glass shattered, we threw ropes in so people could climb down,” he said. Kapil, another local, also broke several windows and threw ropes towards the trapped occupants of the building.

Some, like Salauddin, entered the building too. Hours later, standing outside the gutted structure with an injured foot and soot-covered arms, he recalled how locals rushed in after firefighters forced open the main entrance.“While the firefighters went towards the basement, some of us ran upstairs through the staircase. The heat inside was unbearable. We carried out whoever we found. Many were unconscious and several doors had to be forced open,” he said.

Residents said one critical step that saved lives was the decision to spread mattresses that cushioned people from a possibly fatal impact when they leapt out of the building.

Sanjay Goyal said local businessman Riyazuddin was among the first to react. “He owns a mattress shop nearby and immediately brought out the mattresses. He never thought about the loss. We spread them on the road and helped people jump to safety,” he said.

“All we could think of was how to save people. The smoke was choking us and the visibility was poor, but we kept bringing the mattresses and helping those who had jumped. We also covered burn victims with bedsheets and moved them to safety,” Mohammad Shahrukh, another resident, said.

Arman (20), who runs a mattress shop in the area, said he supplied about a dozen mattresses and several bedsheets. “At least 10 people, including women and children, jumped onto the mattresses to escape the fire and smoke,” he said.

Residents also attempted to create escape routes. Rakesh Kumar said locals climbed to neighbouring rooftops carrying ropes. “We broke windows to release some of the smoke and heat trapped inside. Then we climbed to a nearby terrace and threw ropes towards the upper floors, hoping that the trapped occupants would use these to get out,” he said.

Israr Khan (40) said he and others first entered the basement, where they helped rescue seven people before joining firefighters and police personnel on the upper floors. “By the time we came out, our clothes had turned black from the smoke. But we kept helping wherever we could. We even administered CPR to some of those rescued before they were moved to hospitals,” Khan said.

Several rescuers suffered minor injuries and also inhaled the smoke but continued assisting until emergency teams brought the blaze under control.

For hours after the fire, the lane remained crowded as local people carried the injured away, arranged for transport and helped distraught survivors.