A fire at a reported unauthorised wood warehouse in Dallupura village in East Delhi forced the evacuation of about 1,500 people on Sunday after four LPG cylinders exploded and sent thick smoke across nearby residential areas. Thirty fire tenders were deployed, while residents living around the warehouse were moved out as the blaze spread through stored wood, PVC and thinner chemicals.
The fire was reported at about 3.30 pm from a tin-roofed warehouse spread across roughly 800 square yards. According to the fire department, ten workers were employed at the premises and also lived and cooked there. They managed to escape before the fire intensified. The warehouse was located within a residential area, with several rented rooms and homes close to the structure.
Firefighters initially sent 10 vehicles to the site, followed by 20 more as the scale of the blaze became clear. The presence of wood, PVC and chemical thinner made it difficult to contain the fire, while the explosions of four LPG cylinders caused the flames to spread further. Smoke affected people in the surrounding area, with residents reporting breathing difficulties and irritation in their eyes. The smoke was visible from Noida and Sahibabad, around five kilometres away, according to the report.
Police and civil defence volunteers entered adjoining houses to remove LPG cylinders and broke open the locks of some rooms to prevent the fire from spreading. Residents carried their belongings out and remained on nearby roads while the operation continued. Police did not allow people to return immediately because of the continuing risk from the fire and the cylinders stored in surrounding homes.
A fire station officer reportedly became unconscious while participating in the firefighting operation and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. East district Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajiv Kumar said there had been no reported loss of life and that a search operation would be conducted after the fire was brought under control to check whether anyone remained inside.
The fire was brought under control at about 9.35 pm, after which the search operation was scheduled to begin. The incident nevertheless raised immediate concerns about the operation of storage and commercial premises inside densely populated, unplanned settlements. Local residents told the newspaper that the site had previously operated as a scrap warehouse and had caught fire about a year earlier. They said the scrap operation was shut before a wood warehouse began operating there around six months ago.
The report identified the property owner as Dharmraj and said Kailash, Manoj and Deepak Gupta had taken the warehouse on rent. Residents alleged that several unauthorised warehouses were operating in the village and questioned how such premises were allowed to function among homes. Those allegations had not been independently established in the report. The immediate official action after the fire was to complete the search operation and assess whether anyone was trapped inside.
