Father, two children charred to death at Goregaon; fridge blast suspected

The three were sleeping on the upper floor when the fire started, and they got trapped inside as the iron staircase, their only exit, was not accessible

Mumbai: A father and his two children were charred to death as a house in Goregaon caught fire early on Saturday. The police suspect that the blaze may have been triggered by a blast in a refrigerator that had not been working for over two weeks.

Father, two children charred to death at Goregaon; fridge blast suspected

According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), the fire was first reported at 3:06 am at Bhagat Singh Nagar No. 2, near Link Road in Goregaon (West). The victims were later identified as rickshaw driver Sanjog Pawaskar, 48, his daughter Harshada, 19, and his son Kushal, 12, three members of a family of five that had been living at the rented house for over five years, paying about ₹5,000 per month.

The three were sleeping on the upper floor when the fire started, and they got trapped inside as the iron staircase, their only exit, was not accessible. A neighbour, requesting anonymity, said a naked electric wire had touched the metal stairs, blocking their escape.

Pawaskar’s wife, Seema, survived as she was on night duty at the time. Their other daughter, Divya, a Class XI student, was also saved as she was studying at her maternal aunt’s house nearby.

Heena Khan, the deceased children’s maternal aunt said that the neighbours took some time to respond to the tragedy. “When they heard shouts from the victims, people refused to step out assuming it was some family fight. They also assumed it could be a fight among the drug addicts who frequent that corner lane around the house.”

Khan said that when the shouts persisted for some time, then people stepped out and called her on the phone and she rushed to check. “One of the first things we did was to disconnect the electricity meter connections to avoid the fire from spreading,” explained Khan, who lives in a neighbouring chawl. Residents said that they had to shut off the electric meters in the entire lane before the three family members could be rescued.

Fire brigade officials said the blaze had already been doused by local residents before they arrived. On Saturday afternoon when electricians from Adani Energy inspected the area, the walls of the houses continued to emit electricity shocks forcing the electric supply officials to re-check the entire distribution network.

Locals said the entire locality has dangerously exposed wiring, with electrical wires hanging above. Some dark and narrow lanes even have wires dangling on both sides. “It’s not uncommon to walk through the alley with wires hanging from both sides and one can feel the shock particularly during the monsoons,” said Dinesh Kharwa, a local resident.