Fire breaks out in Malad building, 14 injured
The incident was reported at the eight storied Girnar Galaxy residential building and according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade.
4 min read
Locals said that the building was more than two decades old and housed as many as 30 floors spreading across eight floors. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)As many as 14 people including four senior citizens and one minor were injured in a fire incident that was reported in Malad’s Orlem area on Tuesday morning. Out of the total persons who were injured, three of them sustained burn injuries.
The incident was reported at the eight storied Girnar Galaxy residential building and according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), the blaze broke out around 9 am on Tuesday morning from the electrical meter box that was located in the ground floor of the building.
Adjoining the meter-box there was a staircase, which led to the main exit. The ground-floor lobby of the building was charred entirely. The MFB officials said that while the blaze didn’t spread to other parts of the building, smoke had engulfed the corridors of the building.
“The flames erupted from the meter box in the ground-floor and there was panic amongst the citizens. Some of the residents tried to escape the building and got injured in the process, since the meter box was close to the exit. Had they stayed upstairs and waited for the fire brigade to arrive, then we wouldn’t have these many injured,” Ravindra Ambulgekar, chief fire officer (CFO) told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
Locals said that the building was more than two decades old and housed as many as 30 floors spreading across eight floors. Out of the injured, Marshal Mukadam (80), Vinijoy Mukadam (40) and Levina Mukadam (73) hailed from the same families. Marshal sustained 50% burn injuries, while Vinijoy sustained 30% burn injuries, both of them were taken to Shatabdi Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, Levina who had sustained serious burn injuries was transferred to Airoli burn hospital along with another resident Anthony Fernandes (68) who has also sustained serious injuries.
Speaking to The Indian Express, residents said that initially there was panic and confusion among citizens.
“I was getting ready to go to work when we heard screams, we found out that the entire corridor was engulfed with smoke and realised there was a fire, but we couldn’t sense where the blaze actually broke out,” said a resident.
Another resident said that since ventilation was an issue, those who reside in the lower floors tried to rush out.
“When the incident happened most of the residents who were inside the building were senior citizens, due to the smoke ventilation becoming an issue for them, they tried to run out and some of them got injured in the process,” the resident said.
“While some of them sustained burn injuries, most of them were injured as they had inhaled smoke,” this resident said.
The residents claimed that in every floor there was a fire extinguisher, however, owing to the lack of visibility they couldn’t use them. The remaining victims have been identified as, Mercy Jini Joseph (66), Kavita Menanjes (52), Rezinord D souza (73), Anthony Mohosin (47), Anthony Shetty (47), Adiyan Alfanso (34), Amayra Alfanso (7), Aleena Lopees (40), Namrata Alfanso (33), and Margareta Fernandes (40). After they were rescued by fire brigade officials, the victims were rushed to Shatabdi and Thunga hospitals. All the victims have been discharged from the hospital while Menanjes, D souza and Mohosin are undergoing treatment.
The blaze was extinguished around 9:54 am.
“The blaze remained confined within the ground floor therefore, extinguishing it was not very difficult since it was attached to the main exit way and we got an opening. Also, since this building was constructed before 2000, it didn’t have fire prevention units like sprinklers installed in it,” a MFB official said.
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