NEW DELHI, Feb. 13 -- A 'significant delay' in alerting the fire department, inflammable material used in the building, 'complicated' locking systems of the windows and the staff's inability to fight the flames resulted in a large number of casualties in the blaze at Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh, the Delhi Fire Services said.
Atul Garg, chief fire officer (Delhi Fire Services), said by the time the hotel staff called for help, it was "already very late". "The fire broke out between 3 and 3.30 am. For a long time, no one got to know of the blaze. When the hotel staffers finally woke up, they took the matter into their own hands instead of alerting us," Garg said.
"By the time we reached the spot, the fire had intensified. People were t...