‘So many died that day, but so many were saved’
NEW DELHI: On June 13, 1997, the phone at the Delhi Fire Service headquarters in Connaught Place rang. It was 5pm, and the person who picked up the phone informed the staff on duty about a fire at the Uphaar cinema during a show of the movie, Border, recalls Sanjay Tomar, then 29 years old.
Tomar was deployed on one of the fire tenders that rushed to the spot. Though he doesn’t remember the time it took them to reach the spot, but what he clearly remembers was the scene the encountered at the spot. “There was a huge crowd, people were shouting, crying....there was no space for the fire tenders to reach close to the building. The crowd was removed, then there cars parked in front that had to be removed before rescue and firefighting operations could be launched,” says Tomar, now 54 and a deputy chief fire officer.
One of the worst fire tragedies in the capital, 59 lives were lost in the blaze.
“There was panic, shouts for help, people were crying. A lot of cars were parked in the parking lot so they had to be removed to make space for the fire tenders,” Tomar says.
The rescue team used a sky lift ladder and climbed atop the building and saved several people, says Tomar.
“So many lives were lost that day, but so many others were saved too. The capacity of the cinema hall ran up to hundreds and there was also an office on one of the top floors just below the terrace. The loss of lives and the pain of the families cannot be forgotten. But firefighters managed to save many, otherwise the toll could have been much higher,” the veteran firefighter says.
“While saving people, we did not know how many lives have been lost. It was only after the operation ended that we got to know about the 59 people dying in the tragedy. We were focused on saving as many lives as we could,” he says.
Recalling the rescue operation, Tomar says several people were pulled to the terrace from the floor below with the help of rope. “We made a noose like knot and asked people to put their feet in it and tightly hold the rope. Once they were ready, we pulled them up,” says Tomar.
The firefighter says that more lives could have been saved if the people sitting in the cinema’s balcony would have tried to come down, instead of hiding in the toilets. “A lot of people were found in the two toilets near the balcony area. Back then we were told that someone had told those people that they shouldn’t come down because fire had blocked the passage, so they rushed to the toilets. They were found dead inside the toilet. They must have choked on the heavy smoke. If they had tried to come down, there could have been a chance that some of them might have been saved,” he says.
Citing the example, Tomar says that people must realise that fire exits are made with a specific purpose and are not just vacant spaces to dump unwanted articles. “People take it for granted, not knowing that they are meant for specific purpose and can prove life savers in the instance of a calamity or an accident,” he said.
Tomar, who was also part of the rescue and firefighting operation at the Mundka building where a devastating fire killed 27 people on May 13, says building owners continue to cut corners and businesses operate illegally with scant regard for fire safety regulations. “This is why, we never give a no-objection certificate to any building which doesn’t have two separate fire exits at least,” he says and adds that most deaths in fire incidents take places on premises which don’t have proper fire exits, besides fire fighting equipment.
Association of the Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) president Neelam Krishnamoorthy who lost both her children, Unnati (17) and Ujjwal (13) in the tragedy pointed out an uncanny occurrence. Both Mundka and Uphaar fire tragedies took place on Friday the 13th. “According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, 35 people die in fire-related incidents every day. Recent studies report that one in every five global fire incidents occur in India. India has therefore, witnessed many fire tragedies wherein thousands of lives have been lost. And yet, fire safety does not receive any attention from the government,” she said.