NAINITAL: An 85-year-old woman lost her life and three others were rescued after a massive fire engulfed a residential building in the densely populated Mohanko Chowk area of Mallital, Nainital, late on Wednesday night. A large-scale firefighting and rescue operation was mounted to contain the blaze.
According to the District Disaster Operations Centre (DDOC), the fire was reported around midnight. While the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, preliminary investigations suggest a possible short circuit.
Emergency response teams, including personnel from the fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Water Department, health services, and civil police, were immediately pressed into service.
Senior officials, including Additional District Magistrate Shailendra Singh Negi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Nawazish Khaliq, Superintendent of Police Dr. Jagdish Chandra, and Mallital Kotwal Hem Chandra Pant, rushed to the site to oversee rescue and relief efforts.
SDRF Inspector Kavindra Sajwan noted that the operation was particularly challenging due to the wooden structure of the house, which allowed the flames to spread rapidly. “Despite the intensity of the fire, three persons were successfully rescued. Unfortunately, one elderly woman, identified as Shanta Devi (85), succumbed to suffocation,” he said.
Following directives from District Magistrate Vandana, additional firefighting resources, including tenders and tankers were mobilised from neighbouring towns such as Haldwani, Ramnagar, Bhimtal, Almora, Ranikhet, Sitarganj, and Rudrapur.
Firefighting units from the Army and Air Force were also deployed. The fire was brought under control shortly after midnight.
Authorities have confirmed no further casualties so far. However, a detailed search and rescue operation by the NDRF will commence once the structure is declared safe and the smoke clears completely, to ensure that no one remains trapped.