Fireman Hari Om’s family was waiting for him to celebrate Mahashivratri and discuss arrangements for his niece’s upcoming wedding when news of his death came in.
Stationed at the Janakpuri fire station, Hari Om, 49, was to return home after his 24-hour shift ended at 10.30 a.m. But just hours before, the Vikaspuri fire broke out, which claimed his life along with a colleague – Hari Meena. “We will never be able to celebrate the festival. It will remind us of him,” said a relative at their residence in south-west Delhi’s Kakrola village.
Hari Om’s colleagues and seniors were all praise for him when they described him as an excellent fireman who went beyond the call of duty in all operations, the latest turning out to be his last. He had received several commendation letters in the past two decades that he had been a part of the Delhi Fire Service. Among his most noted fire-fighting operations was the BSF aircraft crash in 2015.
He is survived by his wife and two children — engineering student Ankita (19) and Tushar (17) who is still in school. Tushar was one of the last people to speak to Hari Om on Thursday. “He asked about our well being and hung up. That was the last time we heard from him,” said Tushar.
