Fire at Shahberi shop kills one, injures another; officials cite smoke asphyxiation
A man died and another was injured after a fire broke out at a small wood‑cutting shop in Shahberi in Greater Noida West on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, police and fire officials said on Friday.
Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar said the blaze originated in a shop measuring around 12 by 10 feet. Two men identified by the police as Altamas and Aman were sleeping inside when the fire started. Both were pulled out in an unconscious condition and taken to a nearby hospital, the police said.
Doctors declared Altamas dead during treatment. Aman was later referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital for advanced care and is reported to be in a stable condition, according to the police. Kumar said both men had been asphyxiated by smoke rather than sustaining burns.
Local fire officials and police said the electricity supply to the shop was switched off before rescue operations were mounted. While seven fire tenders were initially dispatched to the scene, Kumar said the incident was brought under control using a single vehicle and the fire has been completely extinguished.
"Both men were asphyxiated by smoke rather than receiving burns," Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar said.
Response and immediate aftermath
Police and the fire department reached the spot after an alarm was raised. The swift cut in power supply and coordinated action between the fire service and local police enabled teams to rescue the two occupants. The injured man was stabilised locally before being moved to Safdarjung for further treatment.
- Location: Shahberi, Greater Noida West
- Shop size: approximately 12 x 10 feet
- Casualties: One dead (Altamas); one injured and referred to Safdarjung (Aman)
- Cause of death: Smoke asphyxiation, officials said
- Fire response: Seven tenders dispatched; fire controlled with one vehicle
Local context and safety concerns
Incidents of fires in small workshops and makeshift units in the outskirts of Noida and Greater Noida have raised recurring concerns over occupational safety, storage of flammable material and the adequacy of electrical installations. The narrow footprint of the shop and the fact that two people were sleeping inside point to vulnerabilities in work‑living arrangements common in peripheral industrial areas.
Fire‑safety experts and residents in similar localities have in the past urged stricter enforcement of safety clearances, regular electrical inspections and the provision of basic firefighting equipment at cluster level. The rapid referral of the injured to a tertiary centre in Delhi underlines gaps in specialised burn and respiratory care capacity in the immediate vicinity.
What officials said and next steps
The police said they have recorded the incident and the fire department completed on‑site extinguishing operations. No criminal attribution or further inquiry details were released on Friday. Local authorities typically await fire‑department technical reports to establish the precise origin of such blazes and whether negligence, faulty wiring or stored material contributed to the incident.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Time | Intervening night of Thursday and Friday |
| Place | Wood‑cutting shop, Shahberi, Greater Noida West |
| Casualties | One dead (Altamas), one injured (Aman) — referred to Safdarjung |
| Response | Electricity shut off; seven tenders dispatched; fire controlled with one vehicle |
Authorities have not publicly disclosed any timeline for a detailed inquiry. Residents and workplace safety advocates in Greater Noida will likely press for swift technical findings that can guide prevention measures for small workshops operating within residential‑industrial clusters.
