Mumbai: 9 of Andheri family killed in early morning fire

Officials at the K West Ward office stated that Wafa Medical Store, on Wireless Road, Juhu Lane in Andheri West, did not have the licence to operate and the health department had conducted an inspection here recently. “We had conducted an inspection and the person running the shop was unable to produce documents or a licence. We had thus issued a notice on June 15 and initiated the process to prosecute him,” said Parag Masurkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of K West Ward.

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While eight members of the family were brought dead to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle, Sufiya, who was pregnant and had sustained 40 per cent burns, died after she was shifted to Kasturba Hospital at Jacob Circle. “Sufiya was conscious when she was brought here. However, we shifted her to Kasturba Hospital since Cooper Hospital does not have a Burns Unit,” said Arun Mhoprekar, the medical superintendent of Cooper Hospital.

Mhoprekar said that of the eight members of the family who died before they could be admitted at the hospital, five of them, including the children, had sustained 100 per cent injuries. “Their bodies were completely charred and they had died primarily due to burn injuries and suffocation,” he said.

Imtiyaz suffered minor injuries and was discharged by Thursday evening. One of the firemen, Avinash Shirgaonkar, was also injured during the rescue efforts. He too was treated and discharged, hospital authorities said.

Describing it as a minor fire, the fire brigade said that it received a call at 6.20 am and extinguished it by 7.19 am. The family lived in a first-floor apartment above the medical store. The police said that a staircase at the rear of the store led up to the home and was the only way in and out.

Noorjahan Shaikh, a cousin of Siddique and Imtiyaz who lives next door to them, said that the fire erupted an hour after the family went to sleep. “They had woken up at 3.30 am for sehri and went to sleep at 5 am. The fire broke an hour after that,” she said.

Imtiyaz escaped by jumping off the balcony and running to Noorjahan’s home, she said. “He tried to go up the stairs but the smoke was so thick that he couldn’t see anyone,” said Noorjahan.

“The stairs ended in an iron trapdoor on the floor of the house. The fire erupted in an electricity metre close to the staircase so when the family opened the trapdoor to escape, they found their way blocked by flames and dense smoke,” said Dhanaji Nalawade, senior inspector, D N Nagar police station. A case of accidental death has been registered by the police.

Neighbours eventually pulled the others out. “There was no way up the stairs, so we broke the aluminium roof to go in. I helped rescue five people before the smoke became too much,” said Imtiyaz’s friend, Tajuddin.

The fire originated at the rear of the shop and that portion was completely gutted. While all furniture inside was destroyed, the shelves, cabinets and their contents were unharmed. Fire officials said prima facie the fire was caused by a short circuit. “The fire was confined to the electric wiring and the electric installation and storage area in the medical store on the ground floor,” said P Rahangdale, Chief Fire Officer.

Neighbours said that the Khan family had humble beginnings and after working at restaurants in Juhu Lane, they opened several stores across the city. Apart from the medical store, they own a bakery across the road from their house and a clothes shop in Khar.

In a show of support to the family, the BMC’s standing committee and the general body meetings were adjourned Thursday. Several corporators, including leader of opposition Pravin Cheda, Samajwadi Party’s Rais Shaikh asked for an inquiry. Shiv Sena corporator Anuradha Pednekar said, “The medical store did not have a licence from the FDA or from the Health department. Keeping other incidents like the Kinara (restaurant) fire in mind, it is therefore the BMC’s responsibility to conduct an audit.”