Delhi: 83 killed, over 390 injured in fire in first six months of 2024, official data says

A total of 83 lives have been lost and over 390 people injured in fire incidents in the national capital this year, as per official data from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS).

The DFS data reveals that 16 people were killed in fires in January, another 16 in February, 12 in March, four in April, seven in May, and 24 up to June 24. On June 25, four members of a family died from suffocation in the Chhawala area of Delhi’s Dwarka.

Fire-related injuries were recorded as follows: 51 in January, 42 in February, 62 in March, 78 in April, 84 in May, and 77 up to June 24. Between January 1 and June 24, the DFS received 12,687 fire-related calls.

In comparison, 39 people lost their lives during the same period in 2023. An official from the DFS said, “The number of fire calls increased by 48 per cent this year. Last year, we received 7,774 fire-related calls from January 1 to June 24, but this year the number has risen to 12,687”.

In recent incidents, on June 25, four family members were killed in a fire in Dwarka. In May, seven newborns died in a massive fire at Baby Care New Born Hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar, which spread to adjacent buildings. The same day, three people died in a fire in a four-storey residential building in Krishna Nagar, east Delhi.

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On February 15, an explosion and subsequent fire in a paint factory at Dayalpur market in outer Delhi’s Alipur resulted in 11 deaths and four injuries. The charred bodies of the victims, including one woman, were found in the factory, which also served as a chemical storage facility. The fire spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops.

In another February incident, an 83-year-old woman died and her granddaughter was injured after they jumped from the fourth floor of a residential building in southwest Delhi’s Dwarka during a fire. (With inputs from PTI)