Debabrata.MohapatraHer grandparents, 70-year-old Biswajit Behera, the building’s security guard, and his wife Sulabha (65) also died in the blaze in the four-storey apartment complex on Badagada Canal Road under Laxmisagar police station limits.The incident rekindled memories of the recent fire in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar that killed 9 members of two families. The fire is suspected to have spread following a blast in an AC unit.Wednesday’s fire was triggered around 4 am by a short circuit in the electrical panel located next to the couple’s ground-floor room in the parking area. The fire quickly spread, trapping the family inside. Biswajit and Sulabha had been living in the small room for the past decade.One of the residents reportedly alerted firefighters around 4:41 am. “Our crew managed to douse the flame within 15 minutes, preventing the fire from spreading to the upper floors. The panel board and the couple’s room were completely gutted, but the rest of the building remained intact,” deputy fire officer Narayan Dash said. He said the victims succumbed to burns and suffocation.Dash added that the family tried to take the staircase to the upper floors to escape the fire, but collapsed due to heavy smoke. “Out of panic, they could not open the grille gate to exit the building. Had they managed to come outside, they might have survived,” he said.Dash informed that the building lacked basic fire safety measures such as extinguishers and sprinklers.Mayor Sulochana Das, who inspected the site, expressed concern over the absence of safety provisions and the lack of a registered housing society. The complex houses 12 flats across four floors.“We were shocked to see no fire safety arrangements. Not a single resident came forward to speak with us. There is no society or welfare association here,” Das said.Bhubaneswar-Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena also visited the site, blaming residents for negligence and poor electrical upkeep.As a precaution, Tata Power Central Odisha Distribution Limited (TPCODL) has disconnected the building’s power supply, directing the apartment authorities to obtain an electrical safety clearance before power is restored.
