Encroachments along the narrow road in Arki bazaar severely impeded rescue operations after a devastating fire gutted a building in Ward Number 4 on Monday, raising serious concerns over urban safety, regulation and emergency preparedness. Sheds illegally raised outside shops had constricted the carriageway to such an extent that heavy machinery requisitioned for rescue could not pass through smoothly.
To create access for earth excavation machines, several sheds had to be dismantled during the operation.
According to officials and eyewitnesses, two earth movers were arranged around 8.30 am, but reaching the site proved challenging due to encroachments that had drastically reduced the effective width of the road.
Onlookers also pointed to the presence of six to nine LPG cylinders inside the gutted buildings, which reportedly intensified the blaze and caused it to spread rapidly to adjacent structures, compounding losses for residents and shopkeepers.
The unsafe storage of such a large number of cylinders has emerged as a key factor aggravating the incident.
Expressing concern, Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthi said the matter warranted a detailed investigation. “It needs to be probed who stored these LPG cylinders in the affected buildings. If these were being used by migrant families, it must also be ascertained under whose names the cylinders were issued,” he said.
Stressing the need to prevent similar tragedies, Awasthi said shortcomings exposed during the incident would be thoroughly analysed and an effective strategy devised to deal with such emergencies in the future.
He lamented the loss of life and said officials had been directed to provide immediate financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to the next of kin of the deceased.
The incident also brought to light infrastructural deficiencies, particularly the absence of water hydrants.
Fire tenders that exhausted their water supply reportedly lost nearly 10 minutes each time while travelling back to the Arki fire station for refilling. To maintain uninterrupted firefighting, additional fire tenders were rushed in from Nalagarh, Banalgi, Darlaghat and Shimla.
Santosh Sharma, Commandant, Home Guards, said rapid urbanisation in towns like Arki, Kunihar and Darlaghat has made expansion of the fire hydrant network imperative.
He added that a proposal for strengthening firefighting infrastructure has been forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner, underscoring the urgent need for systemic upgrades before another tragedy strikes.
The Arki police registered an FIR under section 287 of the BNS for negligent conduct with respect to fire on a complaint filed by Parikshit Gupta.