‘No ventilation’ in shaft-like building, chilling escape video: 5 shocking details in Delhi Malviya Nagar fire

SEveral shocking inside information feature emerged on the shape of the stay on where a monumental fire led to over 20 deaths in Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday. Witness and survivor accounts alleged big lapses, like lack of ventilation, at Flourish B&B, where the massive fire broke out.A video also surfaced, showing occupants jumping out as locals around laid down mattresses for them.According to residents, the stay was used mostly by people or their families who needed a place to stay while awaiting treatment at Max Hospital nearby. Follow live updates on Delhi fire here.‘No ventilation, smoke filled up building’Giriraj Prajapati, 40, who was present at the scene, said the property lacked ventilation, suspecting that to be the case with most structures around. "People were jumping from the upper floors onto mattresses, as the smoke had filled the entire building,” Prajapati said.As stated in an earlier HT report, locals had rushed to save those inside the building, laying mattresses for them. According to a witness, the fire started at the ground floor and soon spread to the upper floor.Narrow escape from fireMinhazul Hassan, a 26-year-old man from Bangladesh who had been staying at the property for his mother's surgery, also alleged lack of ventilation. Describing a close shave with the fire, Hassan said his brother left the building ten minutes before, and he had been at the hospital with his mother."However, all our passports and belongings are inside, and we are worried that those might have been burnt. The building was not well ventilated, as there were no windows, not even in the bathrooms,” said Hassan.'Only one entry and exit'One of the locals who helped out after the fire erupted shared how people scrambled to rescue those inside the building. Mohammed Afzal, a 39-year-old lawyer, said there was only one entry and entrance to the building, which likely trapped people inside."Additionally, the roof was also locked. We were forced to throw brick at windows to break them so that people could jump,” said Mohammed Afzal.‘Building like a shaft, sealed from all sides’Residents have alleged that fire tenders arrived late at the Malviya Nagar site.However, AK Malik, Chief Fire Officer DFS South Zone, said that seven fire tenders were dispatched after a call was received at 8:50 am, and the deployment increased as more details came in. “A total of 37 people were rescued. The fire was extinguished around 10:25 am, and we have completed the final search and cordoned off the building,” the official said.In line with what the locals described, the fire official also said that the building was sealed from all sides and was “like a shaft”."It is sealed from all four sides, as even in the front, there is a facade, and the windows are sealed. In buildings like these, it often happens that the fire spreads,” the chief fire officer added.Permission for six rooms, occupancy 24Flourish B&B, where the fire broke out, had the permission to have only six rooms, but had four times more occupancy, a source in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) told HT.The online booking portal for the stay also shows availability of 24 rooms. The property was registered under the silver category of Delhi's B&B policy, with a license valid till April 2027.Meanwhile, a disturbing video showing people jumping out of the building during the fire also surfaced amid claims of the property lacking ventilation and enough windows.