Fire guts Shastri Park furniture market, tenders pelted with stones over response time

New Delhi: A massive fire engulfed a furniture market near Seelampur Metro station in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park late Friday night, gutting around 300 tin-shed shops and triggering unrest, with some locals allegedly pelting stones at fire tenders over claims of a delayed response.

Delhi Fire Service said it received a call about the blaze at the New Seelampur furniture market at 11.57 pm. Initially, two water tenders, three water bowsers and a quick-response vehicle were dispatched.

As flames spread rapidly through the market, packed with highly inflammable materials such as wooden furniture, plywood and foam, around 12.25 am, additional units were rushed in, taking the deployment to 16 vehicles, including seven water tenders and seven water bowsers.

Officials said the situation escalated when some locals allegedly turned hostile and began pelting stones at emergency personnel and fire vehicles. Around 12.50 am, fire officials sought additional police deployment after a fire tender was attacked and its windscreen was damaged.

Videos circulating on social media showed crowds surrounding fire engines, with some residents claiming that a large portion of the market was already ablaze by the time firefighters arrived.

A senior fire official said, “The firefighting operation was extremely challenging due to the highly flammable material stored in the market and strong winds that caused the fire to spread rapidly. Several boundary fences were locked, and in some places our teams had to cut iron grills to gain access. Entry routes were also blocked, delaying the movement of fire tenders.”

“The intense heat caused tin sheds to melt and collapse, trapping burning furniture underneath and making it harder to douse the fire,” the official added.

On allegations of a delayed response, the official said traffic conditions worsened after crowds gathered at the site. “The first fire tenders reached on time, but later it became difficult to navigate through the congestion,” he said.

At 12.55 am, the blaze was categorised as a “medium fire”, prompting further reinforcements. Senior officers also reached the spot to supervise operations.

In all, 25 fire units, including seven water tenders, 10 water bowsers and specialised vehicles, were deployed to bring the fire under control. No injuries or casualties were reported.

Police said a case has been registered under Section 326 (Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc) of BNS at Shastri Park police station.

In a separate incident, four police personnel rescued a family of three, including a 1-year-old child, from a burning house in east Delhi’s Ajeet Nagar after a fire broke out due to a suspected gas cylinder leak, police said on Saturday.

ASI Kuldeep, head constable Rahul, and constables Vipin and Sunny were on routine patrol when they noticed the blaze and learnt that the family was trapped on the first floor. The team entered the smoke-filled house and brought all three out safely.