Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A massive fire broke out at a doctor's residence in Sai Nath Colony in Tilak Nagar area late on Tuesday night, leaving the family of nine trapped for around 45 minutes. Preliminary investigation revealed that the blaze occurred due to a short circuit in the doctor’s clinic on the ground floor.
The flames spread rapidly, engulfing half a portion of the house. For 45 minutes, the family members struggled, until the neighbours, police personnel and fire brigade came to their rescue. According to the police, the fire incident occurred at Dr Gaurav Jain's house in Sai Nath Colony late on Tuesday night.
The house was home to nine family members, including Dr Gaurav's wife Dr Pooja Tiwari, father Nemichand Jain, mother Shashi, daughter Dhristi, son Nimish, brother Ankit, his wife Ankita and their daughter Sanvi. Nemichand and Dhristi suffered burn injuries while Dr Pooja fainted due to the smoke. Fortunately, all family members were rescued safely, but the household belongings were destroyed entirely.
The fire started around 2:15 am due to a short circuit while everyone was asleep. The flames spread rapidly from the curtains and sofas, eventually reaching the false ceiling (POP). Before anyone could react, the entire house was engulfed in fire. Flames blocked all exits, including the stairs, making it impossible for the family to escape.
Within moments, the fire spread from the ground floor to the upper floor. Seven family members were trapped on the upper floor while the elderly couple was trapped on the ground floor. When neighbours noticed the fire, they immediately informed the police and fire department while also trying to help those trapped inside.
With police and firefighters arriving, a rescue operation began. Around 6,000 litres of water were used to control the fire, which took about one-and-a-half hours to extinguish. The fire destroyed household items worth lakhs of rupees.
Ladder used for rescue, says an eyewitness
Eyewitness Mudit Kansakar, a neighbour of the family, said he was awake when the fire broke out. A neighbour saw smoke and called the family inside the house. Coming out, the family saw flames and smoke billowing out. Since the fire had spread from the ground to the upper floor, escaping through the stairs was impossible. A ladder was brought in, but it couldn't reach the balcony initially. They removed flower pots placed on the wall to extend the ladder through which they reached the balcony and rescued seven people. Later, police and firefighters arrived to rescue the elderly couple trapped on the ground floor.
Doctor's father, wife, daughter faint due to smoke
As the flames spread to the curtains and false ceiling, thick smoke filled the entire house. Due to the suffocating smoke, Dr Gaurav's wife Dr Pooja Tiwari, father Nemichand Jain and daughter Dhristi lost consciousness. When the police and firefighters arrived, they broke windows and doors to let the smoke escape and create an entry point. By the time they entered, most of the belongings had been reduced to ashes. A gas cylinder was also found inside, but since it was empty, an explosion was avoided.
"When we woke up, entire house was filled with smoke"
Dhristi, who suffered burn injuries, recounted the incident, "We were all sleeping when the fire started. The sound of glass shattering woke up my father and he woke everyone up. By then, the entire house was filled with smoke. We were rescued using a ladder placed against the balcony. I closed my eyes because I couldn’t see anything. The TV, sofas, everything in the house burned. There were flames everywhere."
