A 70-year-old woman lost her life while 13 others suffered from asphyxia after a fire broke out in Building No 7 of the C Wing at Premier Compound in Kohinoor City, Kurla (West). The blaze in the ground plus 12 storeys residential building erupted around 7am on Wednesday morning.
The fire was confined between the 4th and 10th floors of the building. According to the fire brigade, some people were stranded on various floors due to smoke, but later were taken to the terrace and then brought down through the staircase. A total of nine people had to be admitted to Rajawadi Hospital at Ghatkopar where Shakuntala Ramani was declared dead. The condition of the others is said to be stable.
Chief Fire Officer Sanjay Manjrekar said, “The building's fire fighting system was not working and therefore our fire brigade jawans faced difficulties in dousing the blaze. We will issue a notice to the office bearers of the society and will take action against them according to law.”
The assistant divisional fire officer, three senior station officers, four fire engines, three jumbo tankers, one aerial ladder platform (ALP), one breathing apparatus van and an ambulance were on site during the firefighting operation.
According to a stranded resident, the building has a fire alarm system which failed and the fire extinguisher system didn't kick in. “There was no way we could have controlled the fire. We called the fire brigade but before they could reach the spot, the fire had already spread.”
Seventh fire incident in city in four days.
Since Sunday, Mumbai has witnessed a spate of fire incidents. On Tuesday, a container at Siddhivinayak Metro shed caught fire. While there were no casualties, smoke enveloped the area.
In two other incidents on Monday, at least 100 hutments in Malad were charred in the fire. A 12-year-old boy died in the incident. Meanwhile, another blaze was reported in a Ghatkopar building.
