Mumbai: Ghatkopar fire claims one life, injures 12

Mumbai: One person died and 12, including four police personnel, were injured in a fire that broke out in a building in Ghatkopar East.

The fire broke out in the meter room at the ground floor of Vishwas Building, Pant Nagar, and soon engulfed the rest of the building, which does not have a fire alarm, according to officials.

As many as 22 patients at Parakh Hospital, including one who had just been taken to the operation theatre, were shifted to facilities nearby. The hospital is located next to the building that caught fire.

The deceased has been identified as 46-year-old Qurshi Dedhia, who worked at the office situated above the hotel, which is also in the ground floor.

The fire broke out at 2.08 pm and was doused by 4.04 pm, according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). Fire fighters from Chembur and Vikhroli reached the spot about 20 minutes after the fire broke out, according to residents of the area.

“It was an old building without a fire fighting system and the blaze spread because of the material in the meter room. Buildings must have a working fire safety system for the safety of the citizens. We will investigate this and penalise those responsible,” said Sanjay Manjrekar, chief fire officer, MFB.

“The fire broke out at the meter room of the Vishwas building. The hotel is situated at the ground floor, with offices and coaching classes occupying the rest of the building. There was a lot of garbage and other flammable materials in the meter room such as papers, banners, clothes. These caught fire as soon as there was a spark in the meter room. The fire and smoke began spreading to the upper floors where the offices are situated. This resulted in the death of one of the employees of an office and injuries to several others,” said Bhalchandra Shirasat, a Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson and a resident of Ghatkopar who witnessed the fire.

The injured policemen who helped in the evacuations and others from the building who suffered from smoke inhalation are being treated at the Rajawadi Hospital.

As soon the building caught fire, patients at neighbouring Parakh Hospital were moved to nearby hospitals with the help of their relatives, said the hospital’s chief executive officer Surendra Mishra.

Of the 12 injured, eight men and three women from the building that caught fire suffered from smoke inhalation, while an 18-year-old woman suffered 20% burn injuries.