A magisterial inquiry into the March 18 Palam Vihar fire, which killed nine people, has found major lapses by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The report said rescue operations were delayed after a Bronto Skylift malfunctioned due to tangled unauthorised overhead cables, while no backup plan was available.
The 85-page report, submitted by the South-West District Magistrate to the Delhi government’s Home Department, said the fire likely started due to an electrical short circuit near the ground-floor miniature circuit breaker (MCB) unit. It spread quickly because combustible material was stored inside the building.
The inquiry found that the Bronto Skylift, a specialised aerial rescue platform, could not operate after its boom got entangled in overhead telecom and internet cables. Fire personnel told the inquiry that they had to manually move low-hanging cables with hooks and remove banners with the help of local residents before the vehicle could reach the building.
The report said the lack of an “effective alternate plan or second line of defence” led to critical delays. By the time a second Bronto Skylift arrived, “it was too late” and all nine people trapped inside had died.
It also found that personnel operating the Bronto Skylift had not received formal training for nearly two years and had learnt to use the equipment from senior colleagues.
While noting that firefighters made their “best possible efforts” in difficult conditions, the report called for a major overhaul of the firefighting system. It recommended specialised training for operators of advanced equipment, filling vacant posts, preparing standard operating procedures for major fires and setting up an expert committee to examine the Skylift malfunction.
The report blamed unauthorised telecom and internet cables for obstructing rescue work. It noted that while BSES Rajdhani had allowed only one telecom operator to use electricity poles in the lane, several local internet providers had installed cables without approval. It recommended bringing all cable operators under a regulatory framework, making identification markings mandatory and taking action against violators.
The MCD was criticised for weak enforcement of licensing rules. The inquiry found that commercial activity had expanded to the first floor despite permissions being limited to the basement and ground floor. It also said road encroachments and banners had reduced access to the building, making emergency response difficult.
The inquiry raised concerns over the Electrical Inspectorate as well. It said the assistant electrical inspector who led the statutory investigation had received no technical training after joining service and had failed to establish the cause of previous fire incidents he examined. The report also criticised the DFS for not issuing an official statement after the fire, saying the communication gap allowed speculation to grow.
