Cylinder blast in Vikaspuri eatery kills two braveheart firemen

A cylinder explosion in a roadside fast-food corner in west Delhi's Vikaspuri on Friday killed two firemen and critically injured two others. The blast was of such high intensity that the firemen were thrown metres away.

The deceased were identified as Hari Om, 50, and Hari Singh Meena, 45, and the injured as Navin Kumar, 34, and Ravinder Kumar, 33. The incident was reported to the Police Control Room and Delhi Fire Services (DFS) around 5.30 am, when locals saw smoke coming out of a restaurant named 'Chatkora' in the H Block of Lal Market.

"Om and Meena would have completed their 24-hour shift at 10.30 am. Since the fire was of moderate intensity, two tenders were rushed to the spot. After the team had contained the blaze successfully, the cooling process was on. They were trying to break the shutter of the restaurant to get inside, unaware that there was a cylinder behind it, which then exploded. Om and Meena were fatally injured while the other two sustained burn injuries," a senior officer, who was present at the spot, said.

The two bravehearts

Om and Meena were no strangers to showing superhuman courage in the face of situations that would have paralysed lesser mortals.

In December 2015, Om was among the first few to jump into a 25-30 feet sewage tank to fish out the bodies of 10 BSF jawans, who had died in a plane crash near Dwarka. Inspired by Om, without missing a beat, Meena and 13 other firemen in the Special Rescue Team followed.

An 11-seater plane carrying 10 BSF officers had crashed near Dwarka, killing everyone on board. The pilot had tried to make an emergency landing but the plane hit a tree and then skidded before crashing into a sewage treatment plant at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

Recalling the operation, Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said that the firemen decided to get into the sewage tank without any equipment or life jackets to save time as they were hopeful of pulling out survivors.

"We are usually the first agency to reach any disaster spot. Om and 14 others in the team saw a part of the aircraft lying outside the sewage plant while the rest was in water. They got into the water to locate the bodies and then formed a long human chain. The first man stood on the top of the tank and the last one got into water to look for survivors or bodies. All bodies were subsequently pulled out from the deep tank. It was one of the biggest challenges for the department," Garg said.

Unfortunately, the two brave men could not survive Friday's disaster. Locals said that the explosion was so powerful that they thought it was a bomb blast. "When I reached the fire site, four firemen were being rushed to hospital. Everything inside the restaurant was gutted," said a horrified Umesh Singh, a shopkeeper who lives nearby.

The injured were rushed to the BLK Super Speciality Hospital. "Ravinder has a soft tissue injury and has been kept under observation. Navin suffered multiple injuries, including his head. He has been operated upon and is under close observation in the neurosurgical ICU," a hospital statement read.

A crime and forensics team also inspected the site. "It is being probed if the restaurant had proper fire safety arrangements. The families have been informed and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem," Garg said.

Both Om and Meena were posted at the Janakpuri fire station. Om was a resident of Kakrola in south-west Delhi, and is survived by his wife, a son who is in Class 11, and a daughter pursuing B.Tech. Meena belonged to Alwar and is survived by wife and three children. His daughters study in Class VIII and IX, while his son is in Class I.

The younger brothers of both the men are also with the Delhi Fire Services.

"Om served for more than 25 years. He saved hundreds of lives during his tenure and inspired me to join the department as well. He received several bravery awards and services medals from the department," Om's younger brother, fireman Baljeet said.

"He left for work around 10.30 am on Thursday. The family was supposed to go to our sister's place after he returned. Our niece's wedding is scheduled for Monday and Om had a lot of responsibilities. Now, there's no one who can fill in for him ever," he added.

Ram Gopal, Meena's distraught younger brother, said: "He joined the fire services in 1996 and I followed him after a few years. He was one of the bravest person I knew. His colleagues told us that on Friday as well, he was leading the team. He has young children and there is no one to take care of them. It will be very difficult for the family to overcome this loss."

The families have requested help from the government.