Lucknow blaze: When an electric cable became a lifeline

Among those who narrowly escaped the Lucknow blaze, which killed 15 people on Monday, was 29-year-old graphic artist Gaurav Kumar from Meerut, who descended from the upper floor of the burning building using a cable after fire and smoke cut off safer routes to the ground.

Kumar was among the last people to emerge from the building.

“We first noticed flames rising from the lower floor. Within a short time, the fire had spread upwards towards the second floor, where our studio is located,” he said.

Kumar has been working for the past five years at Head Hopper Studios, a company involved in 3D art production and game development, which is located on the second floor of the building.

“At the time, around 24 to 25 people were present in the studio,” he said.

Another graphic artist, 29-year-old Aasif from Lucknow, also used the cable to come down. He said a few employees managed to leave using the staircase in the initial moments after the fire was detected. However, as the flames intensified and spread upwards, the stairway became increasingly dangerous.

“With smoke and fire moving closer, many of us realised that the usual exit route might no longer be safe,” he said.

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Faced with limited options, those inside began searching for alternative ways to escape. Aasif said they opened windows in an effort to find a route to safety and assess conditions outside the building. It was then that they noticed a thick, unused electrical cable running down from the terrace.

In the tense minutes that followed, workers weighed the risks of climbing down the exterior of the structure against the growing danger posed by the smoke and flames inside, he added.

“With the main exit blocked by fire and thick smoke rapidly filling the studio, it became increasingly difficult to breathe,” Kumar recalled. “Our eyes were burning, and many of us were beginning to feel dizzy and lose consciousness. The smoke was so dense that it was entering our mouths and making it hard to think clearly,” he said.

“One by one, people began climbing down using the cable. I was among the last to leave the building that way,” said Kumar.

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Aasif said the cable being used as an escape route had also become hot as the fire intensified, making it difficult to hold on for long.

“Many of us struggled to maintain our grip,” he said. “One of my colleagues, Jayant Gupta, could no longer bear the heat and was forced to let go and jump from a considerable height.” According to Aasif, Gupta sustained injuries to his back after landing on the ground.

Another graphic artist, 24-year-old Pankaj Goswami, said the first signs of trouble appeared shortly after lunch.

“We noticed a strong burning smell coming from the floor below,” said Goswami, who is from Almora in Uttarakhand and has been working at the studio for the past year. “It was immediately clear that something was wrong. When we looked down, we could see flames on the lower floor, which was being used as a warehouse by the pet shop.”

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Realising the danger, Goswami alerted his colleagues and urged them to evacuate.

“I immediately informed everyone in the office,” he said. “Then I ran towards the staircase and managed to get out of the building. A few others also escaped with me using the stairs before the situation became worse.”

When asked how some of his colleagues became trapped inside the building, Kumar said, “The smoke spread very quickly. I suspect some of them lost consciousness and were unable to get out.”

“I have been told that 15 people from our workplace lost their lives in the fire,” he said.

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According to information available so far, nine people were able to escape from the upper floor of the building, either through the staircase in the early stages of the fire or by using alternative routes as the blaze intensified.