India, June 5 -- The sight of charred bodies strewn across rooms and staircases, a man found clutching a bag as he tried to flee, a couple locked in a final embrace inside a toilet, and the desperate cries of those trapped on upper floors continues to haunt the first responders a day after the Malviya Nagar hotel fire in south Delhi killed 21 people.

Such haunting memories were among several horrific sights witnessed by Wasim Raja, one of the first responders who rushed into the smoke-filled Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani before firefighters could secure the building.

A day after the tragedy, Raja said he could not sleep through the night as traumatic memories of charred bodies, desperate cries for help and the couple's final moments co...