Mukherjee Nagar fire: Students unaware of fire safety plan, say police; HC takes suo motu notice

A senior fire official said, “We will begin a fire audit of the said building where we will furnish a report on the number of entry and exits in the building and the firefighting equipment present there.”

Mukherjee Nagar fire, fire safety plan, Delhi police, Delhi HC suo motu notice, fire safety equipment, fire exit plan, indian express, indian express news

The fire broke out in Mukherjee Nagar last week

Students of a coaching centre who escaped a blaze in Mukherjee Nagar last week were unaware about fire safety equipment in place inside the building, Delhi Police said on Tuesday after recording statements of 36 people. Police said the students were not given any training on a fire exit plan on the premises.

Meanwhile, taking “suo motu notice” of the incident based on a newspaper report and Whatsapp messages circulating on social media, Delhi High Court in its June 16 order observed that Delhi Fire Services is required to carry out a “Fire Audit” in such buildings.

A division bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan in its order, noted that as per the newspaper report “500 students enrolled at coaching centre in a 4-storey building… had a narrow escape on Thursday i.e. 15.06.2023 when there was a short circuit in the electricity meter”. The court noted that the incident also showed “children climbing down from the 4th floor of the building” with the help of ropes. The bench observed that it seemed to them that the “building completely lacks fire safety equipment and infrastructure”.

The bench thereafter issued notice to the Delhi government, the DFS, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Police, remarking that the DFS is “required to do a Fire Audit in such buildings to ensure that there is adequate fire safety measures as hundreds of students visit these institutes for specialised coaching”.

“The Delhi Fire Services shall also see whether these institutes have Fire Safety Certificates,” the HC added.

Delhi government’s counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi accepted the notice on behalf of the Delhi government and DFS, who were granted two weeks’ time to place their respective stand in the matter. The court listed the matter for further hearing on July 3.

Meanwhile, a senior Delhi Police officer said that most of the victims who have given their statements said neither were they aware about any firefighting equipment present inside the coaching centre, nor were they trained with regard to any fire exit plan in cases of emergencies.

“Apart from recalling the sequence of events on the day of the fire, the students said that there was only one exit to the building and that there were no fire sprinklers or any other safety equipment present inside the premises…we are questioning the owners of other coaching centres in the building and will appropriately add sections based on further probe,” said the officer.

A senior fire official said, “We will begin a fire audit of the said building where we will furnish a report on the number of entry and exits in the building and the firefighting equipment present there.”