New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) Slum residents in Rohini Sector 17 pelted the fire brigade with stones when it reached the spot to put out a blaze, a source on Tuesday said.

More than 800 shanties in a jhuggi cluster in Rohini were reduced to ashes after a massive fire broke out there Sunday, killing two children.

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"Yes, when our teams reached the spot, some residents of the same area started pelting stones at firefighters, which added more challenges in dousing the flames," said the source.

According to a slum resident, who lost his nephew in the fire, the fire brigade reached the spot after around 40 minutes of the first call – enough time for the slum to be reduced into a charred heap.

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"It took them around 40 minutes to reach. We had lost everything by then," Josan, 52, a maternal uncle of 2.5-year-old Alam, who perished in the fire, said.

He did not witness any stone pelting, he added.

The source said the fire tenders had to negotiate heavy traffic and narrow lanes to reach the spot.

"Our firefighters are capable of handling any situation. But sometimes they have to face a lot of challenges on the ground. Firefighting is one of the most challenging jobs, as the risk of getting injured or even losing life is very high. All we want is cooperation," he said.

A Delhi Fire Service official on Monday conceded that the firefighters had a hard time reaching the spot because of the buildings surrounding the hutments.

"There is an apartment complex with boundary walls in front of the affected area that made access extremely difficult. Fire engines had to be lined up one behind the other, and the operation got delayed," he said.

Besides Alam, the son of a ragpicker, there was Sayda, aged three, whose body was extracted from the remains.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta condoled with the slum residents for their loss and extended the government's help.

The local MLA and the sub-divisional magistrate reached the spot to coordinate relief efforts, including the provision of mobile toilets, medical assistance, and food for the affected residents, Gupta said.

Fire calls surge in Delhi over three years, but deaths dip in 2025:

Despite a consistent rise in fire-related calls over the past three years, Delhi witnessed a drop in fire-related fatalities in 2025, according to data released by the Delhi Fire Service.

Between January 1 and April 28, 2025, the DFS received 6,626 fire-related calls - a sharp 14.8 per cent increase compared to 2024, which saw 5,772 calls during the same period.

In 2023, the number stood at 4,904, marking a 17.7 per cent jump in 2024 and a cumulative 35.1 per cent rise over the three years.

While fire incidents climbed steadily, the number of deaths dropped this year.

In 2025, 23 people died in fire-related incidents -- a 52 per cent decline compared to 48 deaths in 2024, and a 23 per cent drop from the 30 fatalities reported in 2023.

The trend in injuries, however, showed a mixed pattern. Burn injuries rose from 163 in 2023 to 230 in 2024 -- a 41 per cent spike. But in 2025, the number fell to 172, reflecting a 25.2 per cent decrease from the previous year, though still 5.5 per cent higher than the 2023 figure.

Officials say that while the rise in calls suggests increasing fire risks, the reduction in fatalities may indicate improved emergency response and public awareness.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)