Fire engulfs Andheri hotel, no casualties

Mumbai: Ten people sustained minor injuries as a major fire gutted the third floor of a residential hotel Samraj in Andheri on Friday night. At least 40 people were stranded on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th floors of the hotel and were rescued within the first half hour of the fire. The fire brigade rushed the injured to Kasturba hospital who have now already been discharged.

The fire brigade received a call at about 11.10 pm on Friday night about the fire, and it pressed eight fire engines and seven water tankers to the spot, along with an ambulance. Fire brigade sources said the fire might have originated in the hotel’s smoking room and then spread to the remaining portion of the third floor. Since it was late in the night many people within the hotel were caught unaware. It took the firemen about two hours to douse the fire.

P. Rahangdale, chief fire officer said, “The fire call was a level III call. We rescued 18 people from the upper floors by midnight and ten out of them sustained minor injuries. They were discharged on Saturday. I cannot confirm yet whether the fire started in the smoking room of the hotel, and investigation is on-going to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.” Source said that guests and the staff were trapped inside the hotel and the smoke was more threatening to their safety than the fire. The fire brigade managed to confine the fire to the third floor.