‘The wait for help was scary’

Keshav Aghav,an irrigation contractor,was in the fifth floor office of Minister of State for Revenue Prakash Solanke for a business visit when the fire broke out. “Around 2.45 pm,I was in the chamber of the minister’s personal secretary when I saw smoke coming from the fourth floor. The passageway outside the chamber was full of smoke and we could not see anything. I rounded up the staff of seven-eight persons and with the help of the light on my mobile phone,guided them to the minister’s chamber which is across the passage,facing the garden. Luckily,the minister had gone for lunch 20 minutes before the incident,” said Aghav.

“We closed the chamber door so that the smoke from the passage would not come inside. But it was getting difficult to breathe so we had to break the windows and climb on to the parapet outside the window while the fire brigade tried to reach us,” he said. “We even helped about seven-eight staff members from Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s office on the sixth floor to come down to our parapet using pipes.” Finally,help arrived,and people climbed on to the fire brigade ladder from the parapet. “I made sure I sent everyone down first,four-five persons at time,and then got down myself,” said Aghav.

The wait on the parapet for help to arrive was “scary” but everyone tried to pacify each other,said Aghav. “Many of the women were crying but we were trying to give each other strength and hope.”

Aslam Khan,a contractor from Aurangabad who was present with Aghav in the chamber,said,“We were stuck in the smoke-filled chamber for over an hour and it was difficult to breathe. I saw two men who had fainted because of the smoke. If I had been there for even 15 more minutes,I would have died.” Shailesh Chakor who was also on the fifth floor for a meeting,said he had no inkling of the fire until someone came in to inform them.

“We were in an AC chamber and it was only when someone told us to leave that we came to know of the fire. As soon as we opened the door of the chamber,a huge cloud of smoke from the passage engulfed the room,” he said.

“I made my way through the smoke somehow even though I couldn’t see anything and could hardly breathe. It took me half an hour to navigate through the smoke and come down the building staircase. It was a dangerous and horrifying experience,” said Chakor.

Avinash Howale,a body guard,who was also on the fifth floor when the fire broke out,said,“It was around 3 pm when suddenly the lights went out and an alarm went off. There was smoke everywhere and people started panicking. But we helped all the staff and others to evacuate the building through the staircase and everyone came down safely.”