Ghaziabad: Two people died as a major fire and thick black smoke tore through a five-storey apartment block in Khoda colony late Monday night. With flames blocking the stairwell and lift, residents were seen scrambling for escape.
While some residents on the first and second floors managed to climb down from balconies using ropes or knotted bedsheets, a few jumped from the first floor to escape the suffocating smoke below. Many simply shut themselves inside bathrooms, hoping the smoke would not reach them.
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Firefighters later evacuated about 120 of the nearly 150 residents trapped inside the building, rushing the injured to nearby hospitals.
But a couple who lived on the second floor died of severe burns during treatment, while their daughter remained in critical condition, officials said. In all, 25 people were admitted to hospital, three of them still in serious condition.
The fire broke out around 11.30pm on March 3 in Sangam Vihar's Birbal Nagar area, part of the densely packed Khoda settlement where narrow lanes and closely built apartment blocks often complicate rescue efforts.
The victims were identified as Rajendra Prasad (54) and his wife Meenu (52), originally from Bihar. Their 24-year-old daughter, Neetu, was found with them inside their bedroom and suffered severe burns. She remains critical.
Officials suspect the blaze was triggered by a short circuit in the building's electrical panel on the ground floor. Flames quickly spread to dozens of two-wheelers parked on the ground floor, intensifying the fire and filling the stairwells and corridors with smoke.
The building, constructed in 2019 by Noida-based builder Vivek Rathi, houses 43 families in small two- and three-room flats. Most residents were inside their homes when the fire broke out around midnight.
Within minutes, smoke surged through the building's central staircase and lift shaft, trapping residents inside their flats. Those who opened their doors found corridors engulfed in smoke and heat.
Fire officials said they received the first alert around midnight. "We could see smoke and flames from a distance when we reached the area," said Rahul Pal, chief fire officer of Ghaziabad. Fire crews positioned ladders on two sides of the building and began evacuating residents floor by floor.
More than 10 fire engines and around 50 firefighters were deployed to the scene. Teams simultaneously battled the flames in the parking area while rescuing trapped residents through windows and balconies. "It took more than two hours to bring the fire under control," Pal said. "We checked each flat and evacuated those who were trapped. People who had inhaled smoke or suffered burns were rushed to nearby hospitals."
For many residents, the night unfolded as a blur of fear and confusion.
Pushpa Mahato, who lives on the fifth floor with her mother and brother, said members of her extended family scattered through the building trying to save themselves. Her elder brother Gautam Mahato, who lives on the second floor with his wife and two children, escaped by climbing down with the help of a rope. Another brother, Kanhaiya Mahato, who lives on the third floor, hid in the bathroom with his wife and children as smoke filled the building.
Pushpa said she too locked herself in a bathroom with her mother and brother. "At that moment, I had almost lost hope that we would survive," she said.
On the third floor, Afroz Ansari said he opened his apartment door after hearing shouting in the corridor, only to see black smoke rushing inside. "The heat from the parking area was so intense that it felt like the fire was right outside the flat," he said. Ansari later managed to move to the upper floor before firefighters arrived and helped residents exit through the staircase. His pet cat, trapped inside during the chaos, was rescued later.
On the first floor, Neeraj Kumar, a software engineer, faced a different choice. He lives in the front flat with his wife Khushi Kumari, their four-year-old daughter Shaanvi, and eight-month-old Ishita. When smoke began pouring into their apartment, Kumar said he believed the family might not survive.
"In a desperate attempt to save them, I wrapped both children in a bedsheet and lowered them from the balcony into the arms of people gathered below. I then helped lower his wife the same way.
By then, the heat inside the flat had become unbearable," he said. "I felt the fire would enter the house any moment. So, I grabbed some cash from the apartment and just jumped down." He suffered minor injuries.
Fire officials later said the building had been constructed without obtaining a fire safety clearance. "No fire NOC was taken by the builder," Pal said. Authorities will issue a notice and initiate action, he added.
