The permanent shelter for homeless people at Coolie Camp in Vasant Vihar, made of corrugated tin sheets, was closed from inside when the blaze first started, police said on Tuesday.
According to investigators, the fire began from a corner of the shelter – most likely from a short circuit – and spread to a pile of mattresses kept in the corner. As the blaze grew, it spread to the roof of the shelter in a matter of seconds.
“The roof of the shelter was lined with thin layers of thermocol and plastic sacks for insulation. The material was highly inflammable,” said an officer close to the investigation.
The officer added, “The fire was localised until the door was closed, since there was not a lot of oxygen inside. However, as people opened the door to escape, a gust of oxygen was let in, which fed the fire and it became unmanageable.”
Police said the forensic team has collected samples from the shelter to determine the cause of the fire.
The officer further said that one of the victims, Arjun, was likely charred to death while he was standing near the entrance of the shelter. They are, however, undertaking DNA sampling, before handing over the bodies over to the families.
“Arjun could have escaped but I think he grabbed his phone by instinct. In a split second, he turned around to take his phone, and the fire intensified,” said Vikas, the shelter’s caretaker.
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He maintained that Arjun could also have been electrocuted. “He was standing there, with his phone in his hand… it was still connected to the charger. In the fire, the wires must have melted and he could have been electrocuted.”
Police said they are awaiting postmortem examination reports to determine whether they suffocated or were burned to death.
Incredibly, the fire completely missed the two gas cylinders placed inside the makeshift kitchen inside the shelter. “During the day, the shelter was used by some of the older children as a tuition centre. Food was prepared for the children in the kitchen… If the cylinders had exploded, the fire would have spread to the houses behind the shelter… All the houses are constructed so close to each other, the camp would have perished,” said Vikas.
