Hyderabad: The Telangana government has held the building’s flawed design responsible for the deadly fire at Gulzar House Chowrasta in Charminar that killed 17 people, including eight children, early Sunday morning. The fire broke out on the ground floor of a G+2 structure at around 6:16 AM and quickly spread to the upper floors, trapping several occupants without an escape route.
According to Y. Nagi Reddy, Director General of Telangana Fire Disaster Response and Civil Defence, the fire department’s initial unit from Moghalpura was dispatched within a minute of the alert and reached the scene by 6:20 AM. Despite the swift response, structural flaws and obstructions severely hampered rescue efforts.
Officials blamed the presence of a single, narrow staircase – less than one metre wide and located adjacent to the fire’s point of origin—for cutting off access to the upper floors. There was no alternate staircase or exit path. To make matters worse, the stairwell was quickly filled with thick smoke and intense heat.
The ground floor, crammed with parked motorcycles, acted as fuel and completely blocked entry. With no windows or doors facing the road, rescue teams could not deploy hydraulic platforms or ventilate the building effectively. Fire personnel were forced to drill through a wall on the first floor to reach the victims.
Seventeen people, including four men, five women, and eight children aged between one-and-a-half and seven years, were killed. Victims included Prahlad (70), Munni (70), Rajendar Modi (65), Sumitra (60), Abhishek (31), Sheetal (35), and children as young as Pratham (1.5 years), Iraaj (2), and Priyansh (4). Another 17 people were rescued from the first floor and taken to hospital.
The Telangana Fire Department deployed 11 fire engines, one Bronto Skylift hydraulic platform, and 87 personnel, including 17 officers. A firefighting robot was also brought in but wasn’t needed. The blaze was extinguished within two hours. Eight personnel wearing breathing apparatus carried out critical rescues, while four residents were saved from the terrace using ladders.
District Fire Officer Venkanna sustained injuries during operations and was hospitalised.
Water was sourced from regular tenders carrying 4,500 litres each and bowsers with capacities of 9,000, 10,000, and 14,000 litres. Departments involved included Fire, Police, GHMC, Health, Hydraa, and Revenue.
Authorities confirmed that the cause of the fire is under investigation and the value of property loss is yet to be assessed. Officials credited the department’s rapid action for preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings and averting further casualties.