Fireman killed,5 hurt in Borivali fire

The thick smoke from the blaze forced Zagde and a few others to come out,said one of his colleagues. “While making his way out,Zagde’s leg got stuck somewhere and then a cupboard fell on him. He was lying in the water spilled while dousing the fire.”

According to officials,the fire started around 6 am at the complex located outside Borivali railway station. They suspect that it might have been caused by a short-circuit in the basement. It took more than nine hours,18 fire engines and five water tankers to contain it. Three ambulances were also pressed into service.

They said the smoke was thick and strong,which created problems for firemen. “They all wore masks,but a few had to be rushed to the Bhagwati Hospital,” chief fire officer Uday Tatkare said.

Among the injured were firemen Manoj Mahade (27),Vasant Dhungaonkar (40) and Deepak Ghosh (40) and two civilians Babulal Jaypal (22) and a 28-year-old unidentified hearing-impaired youth.

Most of them suffered from suffocation and there were hardly any burns,said Dr Mahesh Deshpande,assistant medical officer of the hospital.

“Mahade and Dhungaonkar were critical but are out of danger. The rest were treated and discharged,” he said.

DCP (Zone 11) Sanjay Banerjee said,“The basement is still full of smoke; the police and fire brigade officials will make a joint survey once it is cleared to determine the cause of fire. Prima facie,it appears that a short circuit caused the fire.”