More than 50 people were rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) from a major fire that broke out in a four-storey building near Dadar railway station in the early hours of Friday.
More than 50 people were rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) from a major fire that broke out in a four-storey building near Dadar railway station in the early hours of Friday. Though there were no casualties in the fire, the building has been completely gutted, rendering it uninhabitable for residents.
According to the fire officials, the fire broke out at about 3 am in Ahmed Omar building, which is a residential-cum-commercial structure located on D’Silva Road at Senapati Bapat Marg junction just outside the Dadar station. The building is primarily a wooden structure, which is over seven decades old.
When the fire broke out, over 50 people, including children, elderly men and women, were trapped on the upper floors of the building. As the fire spread rapidly, the firemen had a tough time evacuating them safely. The MFB had to launch a massive rescue operation by using three ladders, aerial ladder and turn-table
ladders.Two elderly people, Sunil Mohile (70) and Shilpa Mohile (65), fell unconscious due to suffocation and had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of KEM Hospital after their condition was found to be critical.
Civic officials said Ahmed Omar is a cess building, which has 17 commercial shops and a hotel on the ground floor as well as residential apartments on upper floors.
The fire was confined to garments, computers, stocks of wedding cards, household articles, books, air conditioners, doors, windows, electric wirings and hotel appliances. The fire spread rapidly due to the wooden structure of the building.
A fire official on the site said that the fire, after sparking off from the electrical wiring, first spread to the hotel and then vertically on upper floors. It was brought under control by 7.18 am after four hours of intense fire-fighting operations. Sixteen fire engines and eight water tankers were used to douse the blaze.
Chief fire officer P. Rahangdale said they are still investigating the cause of fire. “Prima facie it seems that the fire might have started from electrical wiring near the main staircase. The entire wooden staircase caught fire and people on the upper floors had to be brought down using ladders,” he added.
