NEW DELHI: Dhanendra, a 1968-batch retired IAS officer and former executive director representing India at the World Bank, died on Wednesday night after a fire broke out at his residence in Hauz Khas area, a couple of days before his 80th birthday. His son, who had travelled from London for the birthday, also got injured in the incident.
The night guard in the area saw the fire and alerted locals. According to the neighbours, apart from fire tenders being late, the cars parked on both sides of the roads delayed movement. They reportedly used buckets of water and other available means to contain the flames.
“The fire brigade took around 20 to 25 minutes to arrive. They were saying that they could not locate the address properly and that the street was too narrow. However, I don’t think that was the case because we heard the siren only once, and after that, they arrived at the spot,” one of the neighbours said.
Another neighbour Priya said, “The whole ground floor was on fire. All the neighbours were there to support uncle. Aunty was brought out early, but Uncle, unfortunately, was still inside at that time. I think we all should have fire extinguishers in houses.”
Residents of Hauz Khas Enclave said the incident exposed deeper concerns over emergency preparedness in Delhi’s gated colonies, where roads are often blocked or narrowed due to security barricades and indiscriminate parking.
“This could have been avoided if the fire department had not taken so much time to respond. I made the first call around 11.15 pm and then three more calls, but it took them around 50 minutes to come. By that time we were trying to douse the fire ourselves along with police personnel using water buckets,” Abhishek Ranjan, Kumar’s manager for the past 14 years, said.
According to him, the fire started after a suspected short circuit in the indoor unit of an AC and quickly spread through curtains and furniture on the ground floor. Domestic help Ramesh Kumar said that the AC caught fire. “First, we rescued Madam, who was in a wheelchair. Then, I, along with my owner’s son, took out the retired bureaucrat and shifted him to the hospital. The AC was installed inside his room. There was a lot of smoke which spread throughout the entire house, and he could not get out of the room on time,” Ramesh stated.
A fire official stated that two fire tenders were dispatched immediately after receiving the information, one from Geetanjali Fire Station and another from Bhikaji Cama Place Fire Station. “Since Geetanjali Fire Station is closer to the spot, that vehicle reached first. It was found that two people trapped inside had been rescued. The fire was brought under control after 56 minutes. It would be incorrect to say that the fire brigade arrived late. The fire engine was at the scene on time,” he added.
A preliminary probe revealed that there was an AC unit malfunction allegedly caused the fire and smoke. It is suspected that due to smoke inhalation, he collapsed inside the room, a senior police officer said.