Ten people and a 10-month-old girl suffered suffocation when a fire broke out at Jagruti society in Mulund West on Wednesday.
Fire breaks out in ground floor of 10-storey building
The fire broke out at 2.55 pm in the society, which is a ground plus seven storey complex in Vitthal Nagar. The fire was confined to electric wiring, electric installation, electric main cables, meters, and switches in the common electric meter cabin on the ground floor of the building.
The Mumbai fire brigade extinguished the fire by cutting off electricity and PNG supply and using one high-pressure motor pump. However, the entire staircase was filled with smoke and some residents were trapped in the lobby.
The fire officials from Mulund fire station evacuated 80 residents from the staircase to the terrace, while 10 persons were found in an unconscious state were rushed to a nearby hospital. All 10 are now stable, said a fire department official.
All electric wires gutted, water supply hit
“There was no space to reach near the building, so we entered from the nearby open compound and doused the fire. The entire meter cabin was gutted in the fire and thick smoke spread to the houses and through the staircase. We entered through a cloud of smoke and rescued 35 women and 25 men from the staircase to a terrace, while a few were brought down to the ground floor. A few of them who complained about suffocation were manually lifted down and sent to Agrawal Hospital," said D.M. Patil, senior station officer of Mulund fire station.
“As all the electric wires are gutted in the fire and the water supply has also been affected the residents are temporarily accommodated in the hall of the society. The motor pump will be repaired by tomorrow morning, it might take four to five days to install the new wiring in the building,” said Samita Kamble, a former corporator from Mulund.
Those who were admitted to hospital include Ashwini Sakpal (52 years), Rajeshri Sakpal (58 years), Sushila Adhav (63years), Rajesh Adhav (36years), Swara Adhav (8 years), Vishakha Adhav (10 years), Akshara Savarkar (32 years), Kavish Savarkar (4 years), Suvarna Shinde (50 years), and Manjula Jethava (40 years). The 10-month-old girl was discharged after treatment, while eight people were admitted to the general ward and two are in ICU. The condition of all the patients is stable, said the fire official.
The fire brigade is investigating the incident.
