📅 Date & Location
- Date: 28 September 2025 (early morning)
- Location: Deep Shree Apartment, Anantpura area, Kota, Rajasthan
- Victims: Child actor Veer Sharma (9) and his brother Shaurya Sharma (13)
🕯 What Happened?
- Around 3:45 AM, a fire broke out inside a flat on the second floor of Deep Shree Apartments in the Anantpura area of Kota.
- The blaze was reportedly triggered by a short circuit in an air-conditioner, which ignited nearby household materials.
- The two children, Veer and Shaurya, were asleep in their bedroom while their mother, TV actress Pushkal Sharma, was in another room.
- Heavy smoke rapidly filled the apartment, leading to suffocation before the flames could even reach the children.
- The mother attempted to rescue them but was overcome by smoke; neighbours and fire personnel later broke open the door to retrieve the bodies.
- Both children were declared dead at the hospital.
- The tragedy shocked the film and television fraternity nationwide, prompting widespread appeals for home fire safety awareness.
🔍 Mistakes / What Went Wrong
- Electrical short circuit in AC unit — common but deadly when unnoticed.
- No smoke detector or alarm system — the fire went unnoticed until it was too late.
- Closed doors and windows trapped the smoke inside the bedroom.
- Combustible furnishings and wiring accelerated smoke density.
- Delayed detection — family woke only after smoke spread throughout the flat.
- Absence of emergency awareness — no immediate access to fire extinguisher or blanket.
⚖ Hidden / Less-Mentioned Truths
- The victims did not die of burns, but due to asphyxiation from toxic smoke — a silent killer in most indoor fires.
- Experts later confirmed that a ₹500 smoke detector could have saved their lives by alerting the family within seconds of smoke formation.
- The fire was confined to the room, yet the smoke filled the entire flat, illustrating how invisible dangers spread faster than flames.
- The tragedy exposed a broader issue — lack of residential fire safety culture in Indian urban housing.
🧯 How Could It Have Been Prevented?
- Installation of smoke and heat detectors in every room.
- Regular maintenance of AC units and electrical wiring.
- Keeping Life Safety Blanket (LSB) and small fire extinguisher near bedrooms.
- Training families on night-time fire response and evacuation.
- Use of fire-retardant interiors (curtains, mattresses, wiring covers).
- Keeping bedroom doors slightly ajar at night for early smoke detection.
- Emergency drills for children – how to escape or alert others.
🛡 Survival Guide (If You Face a Fire While Sleeping)
- If you smell smoke, stay low – air near the floor is cleaner.
- Do not open hot doors – feel handle before touching.
- Cover mouth and nose with wet cloth; crawl toward nearest exit.
- Shout to wake others immediately.
- Move toward windows or balcony and signal for help.
- If trapped, seal door gaps with wet towels to block smoke.
- Never hide under beds or in bathrooms.
- Call 101 / 112 once in a safe zone.
- Keep a torchlight or whistle near your bedside.
- Every home must have smoke alarms and emergency lighting.
📊 Data / Stats Box
- Deaths: 2 (Veer & Shaurya Sharma)
- Cause: Electrical short circuit in AC unit
- Time: Around 3:45 AM
- Location: Bedroom of second-floor flat
- Primary cause of death: Suffocation from smoke
- Fire tenders: 2 units; blaze doused within 30 minutes
- Damage: Room and AC unit destroyed; flat filled with dense smoke
📽 Visuals (Collected / Suggested)
🙏 Voices / Human Angle
- The victims were sons of TV actress Pushkal Sharma, known for her role in Shrimad Ramayan (Sony SAB).
- Family and industry colleagues mourned: “They were full of life and talent — gone too soon.”
- Neighbours described the mother’s desperate attempts to open the door amid rising smoke.
- The incident sparked a nationwide discussion on home safety and child preparedness.
📢 Systemic Lessons
- Home fire safety is as critical as building fire codes — yet often ignored.
- Every apartment should have mandatory smoke alarms and night-time inspection protocols.
- Builders and RWAs must conduct quarterly electrical audits.
- Parents must teach children basic emergency instincts (call, crawl, alert).
- City fire departments should run awareness campaigns after every tragedy.
💡 What You Can Do Today
✅ Install smoke detectors in every room — cost less than a family dinner.
✅ Schedule annual electrical inspection of ACs and wiring.
✅ Keep LSB or fire extinguisher accessible near bedrooms.
✅ Discuss fire response plan with children.
✅ Share this story — prevention begins with awareness.
🔚 Closing Line
“A spark took two young stars away before sunrise — a reminder that awareness and a small alarm can be the difference between heartbreak and survival.”