A tragic incident occurred in Aligarh's Hari Om Nagar locality on Wednesday evening, where a 79-year-old sports goods businessman lost his life due to suffocation following a fire at his two-storey house. The deceased, Subhash Chandra Kalra, was the owner of Kalra Sports and a well-known figure in the city's sporting goods trade. He was alone at home when the fire broke out around 8pm, as his sons were at their business establishments and other family members were away.
Fire Erupted After Loud Explosion
Neighbors noticed the fire after hearing a loud explosion, suspected to have been caused by an air-conditioner compressor blast. By the time they reacted, flames had engulfed a ground-floor room and dense smoke had spread throughout the house. Police and fire department personnel rushed to the scene and deployed three fire tenders. The blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes.
Victim Rescued but Succumbs
Kalra was rescued alive and rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, where he unfortunately died during treatment. Chief fire officer Mukesh Kumar stated, “The victim was found inside a smoke-filled room. A large quantity of sports goods, including rubber and plastic materials, had caught fire, generating dense smoke. He appears to have inhaled a significant amount of it.”
Preliminary Investigation Points to Short Circuit
Preliminary investigation suggested that the fire started from an inverter kept in an outer room and spread to nearby sports equipment stored in the house. Officials suspected a short circuit triggered the blaze and noted that Kalra also had a pre-existing respiratory ailment, which may have exacerbated the situation.
