‘We heard screaming, saw the fire but couldn’t escape’: 13 affected in Ghatkopar fire

On Saturday, fire broke out in the building’s electric meter cabin. While flames remained confined to electrical wirings and installation of the electrical cabin located on the ground floor, smoke spread through the structure, leading to suffocation amongst several residents.

Furthermore, locals said the cabin from where the fire spread was situated near the building’s entrance gate. With the entry and exit points of the building ablaze, as well as intensive smoke logging, residents could not escape the building. Nearly 90 persons were stranded on several floors of the building, as per the BMC.

“At night, when we suddenly heard a lot of screaming, we figured that there had been a fire. Because the staircase area was filled with smoke, there was no way to go down and we began coughing and choking on the smoke. Then, my family and other residents went to the terrace and waited to be rescued,” Ranjana Sonawane, a sixth floor resident told The Indian Express. Sonawane was with her daughter and two minor grandchildren, when the fire broke out.

Several residents said the fire brigade arrived more than an hour after the fire broke out, thus delaying the rescue operation. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Several residents said the fire brigade arrived more than an hour after the fire broke out, thus delaying the rescue operation.

Chandan Nikalje, a member of Ramabai Ambedkar residents society, who helped in the rescue operation, said, “The fire brigade came nearly one and a half hours after the fire broke out. Before they could arrive, we used ladders to rescue residents but only up to the second floor. We could do nothing about helping those on the upper floors.”

Meanwhile, Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) rescued nearly 80–90 persons stranded on various floors of the building via the stairs.

However, owing to smoke inhalation, 13 persons including two minors were severely affected and admitted to the civic-run Rajawadi hospital. One was treated in OPD and discharged and seven people have taken discharge against medical advice. Five victims —Jasim Salim Sayyad (17), Abid Shah (22), Sweety Sandip Kadam (45), Laxmi Laxman Kadam (50) and Laxman Rambhau Kadam (60)—are still undergoing treatment in hospital. As per medical officials, the condition of victims remains stable.

In a bid to douse the blaze, meanwhile, the fire brigade pressed a hose line from three motor pumps. A senior official from MFB said, “The fire broke out in the meter cabin, and we responded to the call as soon as possible. It could have been a short circuit, but the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.”

Meanwhile, Nikalje said that the building has been occupied since 2016 and “earlier too, we had appealed to the developer to conduct an inspection of the electrical cabin as it was unsafe but to no avail.”

The fire was extinguished at 2.06 am on Saturday, civic body officials said.