Surat: Blaze engulfs four floors of high-rise building, 20 rescued
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who lives opposite the building, rushed to the spot and supervised the rescue operation
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Over a hundred firefighters, accompanied by 22 fire tender vehicles, reached the spot and carried out the extinguishing work, said an official. (Express Photo)A major fire broke out in a high-rise building of a residential area in Surat’s Vesu Friday, following which at least 20 persons reportedly trapped on its terrace were rescued even as Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who lives opposite the building, rushed to the spot and supervised the rescue operation, an official familiar with the matter said.
No casualties have been reported during the incident and the officials are trying to ascertain the cause of the fire. The fire which started at the eighth floor engulfed three more floors of the Happy Excellencia building in Vesu, said the officials.
According to the details received from Surat Fire Department officials, the blaze first broke out in the steambath-cum-gym room of flat no. 802 in the U-1 wing of the building.
On noticing the smoke and flames, the house inmates came out, following which the Fire Department control room was alerted. Meanwhile, the flames spread from 802 to 902, 1002 and 1102 flats of the U-1 wing, said sources. Soon after, the flat inmates rushed to the terrace of the building to save their lives, said officials.
Over a hundred firefighters, accompanied by 22 fire tender vehicles, reached the spot and carried out the extinguishing work, said an official. A table-turn ladder on the fire tender vehicles was used to bring the fire under control, said the official, adding, it took a couple of hours to douse the flames.
According to the details received from Surat Fire Department officials, the blaze first broke out in the steambath-cum-gym room of flat no. 802 in the U-1 wing of the building. (Express Photo)
Minister Sanghavi, meanwhile, remained present when the firemen were carrying out the extinguishing work. Later, the police officials also reached the spot and controlled the traffic near the spot.
Sharing details, Surat Chief Fire Officer Basant Pareek said, “The building is of 11 floors plus a terrace and on each floor, there are two flats. One side of the wing consists of a 5 BHK flat and the other side a 7 BHK flat. Each flat has an individual gym-cum-steam bathroom. The fire erupted in the gym-cum-steam bathroom of a 7 BHK flat”.
“The fire may have taken place due to an electric short circuit in the steam bathroom, following which it spread to the room and due to the wind, the flames engulfed the top floors. We are, however, trying to ascertain the exact cause of the fire,” Pareek added.
He further added, “Nobody was injured during the incident and we were able to rescue 20 people from the terrace, who were brought to the ground floor through stairs. A team of forensic officials have also taken the samples from the spot and we are awaiting the report. Four flats were affected by fire and we are calculating the exact financial loss. A probe is underway into the matter.”
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