AAP questions ‘delay’ in DFS response to Malviya Nagar fire

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At least 12 foreign nationals were among the 21 people who died in the fire that broke out at the Flourish Stay B&B in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday (June 4, 2026) alleged lapses in the response to the Malviya Nagar fire, questioning the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) account of when it was alerted and how quickly personnel reached the spot.

The allegations come a day after a fire in a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) facility in Malviya Nagar claimed 21 lives, including 12 foreign nationals, and left several injured. People were forced to jump from windows onto mattresses spread by local residents before firefighters arrived.

Addressing a press conference, AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the sequence of events described by the government did not tally with visuals from the scene.

“If mattresses had already been laid out by 8.15 a.m., the fire must have broken out around 8 a.m. or earlier. The people involved in the rescue would have informed the Fire Department or the police. How then can it be claimed that the Fire Department was informed only at 8.50 a.m.?“ he asked.

Mr. Bharadwaj said it was difficult to believe that residents carrying out rescue efforts had not alerted emergency services before that time.

“The government claims that the call was received at 8.50 a.m. and that the Fire Department reached the spot by 9.15 a.m. as evidence of a prompt response. This is a complete lie,“ he said.

He also referred to an earlier fire incident in Palam in which nine people died, and questioned the status of the magisterial inquiry ordered into the case.

“The incident took place on February 18. Three months have passed, but the report has not been made public,” he said.

Responding to allegations of a delayed response, DFS’ Deputy Chief Fire Officer A.K. Malik said the nearest fire station, at Geetanjali Enclave, was unable to send vehicles immediately because its units had already been deployed to another fire.

“We had to mobilise fir