Two killed, six injured after fire breaks out in Dhanbad house

Dhanbad: Two persons died and six others were injured after a fire broke out in a three-storey residential building in Vikas Nagar under Saraidhela police station area of Dhanbad on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as Prashant Kumar alias Golu (22) and his grandmother Chinta Devi (70). According to family members, Prashant arrived from Patna just 15 days ago to stay at his grandmother’s house. At the time of the incident, 15 people were present in the house. Eight were sleeping on the ground floor, three on the second floor, and four on the third floor. The fire reportedly originated on the ground floor, leading to the rapid spread of thick smoke throughout the building. Those staying on the upper floors managed to escape by rushing outside, while neighbours attempted to douse the flames and rescue those trapped inside.

After a strenuous effort, several trapped individuals were pulled out and the fire department was informed. Three fire tenders rushed to the spot, and after nearly one-and-a-half hours of intense firefighting, the blaze was finally brought under control.

Though preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was caused by a short circuit, Saraidhela police station in-charge Manjeet Kumar said probe is underway to ascertain the actual cause of the incident.

Sources said that Chinta Devi was using a room heater and went to sleep around midnight. Around 1 am, smoke was noticed coming from one of the rooms on the ground floor, following which flames engulfed the area.

Chandan Prasad, son of Chinta Devi, said, “Around 1 am, smoke started coming out of a room on the lower floor. Within minutes, flames erupted. I tried hard to open the main door but failed. I then broke open the back door and, with the help of neighbours, and tried to enter the house, but the dense smoke made it impossible. After the fire tenders arrived, the situation came under control. My mother and nephew died due to suffocation,” he said.

Six people sleeping on the ground floor sustained burn injuries. Two of them are reported to be in critical condition and are undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Police have taken custody of the bodies and sent them for post-mortem. An investigation is underway.

The incident has once again highlighted the growing threat of fire accidents in Dhanbad. In January, a renowned doctor, Vikas Hajra, and wife, Dr Prema Hajra, died in a house fire, while in March, 14 people were killed in a massive blaze at Ashirwad Tower near Jodaphatak during a wedding ceremony.