As smoke billowed from the Flourish Stay on Wednesday morning, and cries for help from the upstairs windows filled the narrow corridor of Hauz Rani, the first to respond were not firefighters or disaster personnel. They were neighbors, shopkeepers, local residents and guests from nearby inns who fearlessly rushed towards the burning building and carried out a rescue operation that saved dozens of lives.
Among them was 61-year-old Riad Al-Din, who runs a mattress store across from the B&B. As the fire spread through the building, he hurriedly began pulling mattresses under the windows in the corridor next to him.
“We quickly realized that the fire broke out on the ground floor and people on the upper floors were trapped because the stairs were filled with smoke,” Riazuddin recalls. “We saw guests opening the windows. Some had to break the glass to find an escape route. We asked them to jump and assured them that we had put mattresses at the bottom.”
Within minutes, he said, he had taken out every mattress in his store and distributed them across the narrow aisle. Videos from the scene showed horrific images of people jumping in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
Local residents, traders and workers from nearby establishments gathered at the scene while people trapped inside emerged from windows begging for help. Some tried to storm the building even before emergency services arrived, but thick smoke and extreme heat forced them to return.
Sanjay Goyal, who runs a nearby grocery store, joined Riazuddin in arranging mattresses and blankets to protect those trying to escape. “There was only one exit, and it was full of smoke… The heat was so intense that even people who were trying to enter the building to help had to come out to get air,” he said.
Others made improvised rescue equipment using whatever was available. Ladders were tied with ropes to reach the upper floors, while local residents worked to smash windows and guide the trapped guests to safety.
The area around Hauz Rani, dotted with budget hostels and guest houses, is often used by patients and caregivers visiting nearby hospitals. Many residents knew that the building was likely occupied by people unfamiliar with the area and unable to find an escape route in the chaos.
Waseem Raja, a security officer at Max Hospital in Saket who lives nearby, was among those who rushed to help. He said he moved repeatedly through the smoke-filled building searching for survivors and performing CPR on victims. “I performed CPR on at least 10 people between the basement and the third floor,” Raja said.
As firefighters and rescue personnel began their operations, local volunteers entered the building alongside them. They said what they encountered inside was a scene of devastation.
He said some of the scenes Raja witnessed will haunt him forever.
He added that among the victims was an African couple who were found inside a bathroom on the ground floor. He said: “The woman was sitting on the toilet, while her husband was next to her, placing her head on his shoulder in what appeared to be their last moments.”
Muhammad Israr Khan (40 years old) was among those who entered the building after the fire was partially controlled. He added: “People were covered in soot. Some of them were crying and screaming for help. Many of them were seriously injured. We saw many bodies and helped carry them outside wrapped in bedsheets.”
Mohammed Shuaib, 35, who previously worked as a fire emergency trainer, joined the effort after hearing about the fire. By then, several people had already jumped out of the windows onto the mattresses below. “About nine people jumped from the building,” he said.
He said: “When we were finally able to enter, the sight was horrific… There were people who still had a pulse but were not breathing properly… I performed CPR on eight of these people. Three of them regained consciousness.”
DFS Southern Zone Chief Fire Officer AK Malik told HT that a call was received at 8.50 am and seven fire tenders were initially dispatched. “As we started receiving more calls, we increased the deployment of vehicles and DFS officials. A total of 37 people were rescued. The fire was extinguished around 10.25am.”
Firefighters searched room by room while volunteers helped transfer survivors to ambulances waiting outside. Residents also coordinated with nearby hospitals and arranged the transportation of the wounded.
Among those who miraculously survived was 26-year-old Bangladeshi citizen Minhazul Hassan, whose mother was admitted to a nearby hospital for knee replacement surgery. “My brother left the B&B 10 minutes before the fire,” Hassan said. “Everything we had there was destroyed, including our passports and belongings. We were lucky to escape.”
