A survivor of the devastating fire that tore through a commercial building in Lucknow's Aliganj area on 23 June, killing at least 18 people, has described how a biometric entry system failed during a power outage and trapped workers on the second floor, forcing some to climb down using an electric wire to escape. The account, given by Mohammad Asif, one of the few who made it out alive, offers the most detailed first-person testimony yet of the sequence of failures that turned a short circuit into a mass casualty event.

How the Fire Unfolded

Asif recalled that the blaze began without warning while staff were returning from their lunch break. 'We were sitting after lunch and were about to start work again when some staff came and said there was a short circuit kind of a thing and a fire had broken out,' he said. Workers initially attempted to leave through the main door, but the biometric attendance system — which required fingerprint authentication to unlock the exit — had stopped functioning due to the power failure. 'There was no electricity, and the fingerprint system was not working. The door was also not opening,' Asif said.

The Desperate Escape Route

With the primary exit sealed and smoke rapidly filling the staircase, Asif and a small group retreated to another room, covered their faces with towels, and located a small window. 'We saw an electricity wire passing beside a small window. We tried to climb down using the wire. Me and four to five others could come down using that,' he said. Others, unable to reach the window or the wire, reportedly locked themselves in a washroom in a bid to avoid suffocation. 'They could not escape,' Asif said, his account confirming that the washroom offered no way out.

Injuries, Delayed Response, and a Broken Alarm

One colleague, Jayant Gupta, broke a glass window and attempted to jump, but fell onto an iron railing, fracturing his hip. According to Asif, Gupta lay on the road for approximately half an hour before an ambulance arrived. The fire brigade, Asif said, reached the site only after more than an hour. He also confirmed that while the building reportedly had fire-fighting equipment installed, the fire alarm did not activate. 'We received help almost an hour later,' he said, adding that the heat was so intense it could be felt on the skin from 100 metres away.

Eyewitness: Terrace Door Was Shutter-Locked

Witness Mala Nigam, who observed the tragedy from outside, described scenes of chaos on the ground floor, where a pet shop's animals were pulled out in cages by bystanders. She said only a few people managed to descend from the upper floors, and two or three children jumped and sustained injuries before the fire became too intense for further rescues. Critically, Nigam said the terrace door was shutter-locked, preventing children from reaching the roof — and preventing firefighters from accessing them from above. 'The children were stuck and remained locked inside... they were calling up their parents in panic, some even locked themselves in the washrooms while attempting to save themselves,' she said.

Systemic Failures at the Centre of the Tragedy

The survivor accounts point to a convergence of failures: a biometric lock that could not be manually overridden during a power cut, a fire alarm that did not sound, a locked terrace door, and a delayed emergency response. This is not the first time locked emergency exits have been cited in Indian building fire tragedies — similar findings emerged after high-profile incidents in Surat and Delhi in recent years. Authorities have yet to formally address the building's fire safety compliance status. Investigations are ongoing.