Fire breaks out in 61-storey One Avighna Park; 3 injured

Mumbai: A level one fire broke out on the 22nd floor of the B-Wing of One Avighna Park, on Lower Parel, near Currey Road railway station, at 10:50 am on Thursday

Mumbai: A level one fire broke out on the 22nd floor of the B-Wing of One Avighna Park, on Lower Parel, near Currey Road railway station, at 10:50 am on Thursday. It was brought under control over the next three hours, but two firemen were injured while dousing the flames and one woman who had inhaled smoke.

Mumbai, India - December 15, 2022: A Level-1 fire erupted on the 22nd floor of One Avighna Park, multi-storey residential building near Bharat Mata Cinema, Lower Parel, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, December 15, 2022. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

In October last year, a level four fire was reported in the same building, in which dozens of citizens were rescued safely, but a 30-year-old security guard lost his life.

One Avighna Park is a 61-storey building, with 330 flats in 3BHK, 4BHK and 5BHK layouts, ranging between 2000 to 5000 sq ft along with a 1.5 lakh sq ft clubhouse. It is a platinum rated green building, which was granted occupation certificate in 2017.

The two firemen -- Ramdas Shivram Sanas, 37, and Mahesh Ravindra Patil, 26 – who suffered injuries, were taken to KEM hospital where they were treated and discharged. One resident, a 26-year-old woman, was taken to Wockhardt Hospital, in Mumbai Central, in the afternoon by her husband after she complained of smoke inhalation.

“The patient was treated and stabilised in the emergency department, by afternoon. Her vitals were normal and she was discharged from the hospital,” said Dr Virendra Chauhan, Centre Head, Wockhardt Hospital.

According to residents of the building, the fire broke out in flat number 2202 and soon spread through the luxurious flat, damaging the flats on the floor above it as well. Local firemen added that while this flat was completely damaged, the floor above and below also suffered some damages.

They also said the fire alarm did not go off, although the firefighting equipment were functional, which helped in controlling the fire from spreading further. Four fire engines, an equal number of JTs which provide additional support to the fire engines, one ariel ladder platform, and other highrise fire-fighting equipment were pressed into service. Senior fire officials from the Fire Brigade also arrived at the spot.

“As the flat was unoccupied when the fire broke out, there were no injuries,” said Fire Brigade chief, Sanjay Manjrekar. “The functional firefighting equipment of the building helped us control the fire. An additional firefighting equipment was also sent from the ground floor by the firemen.”

A fireman involved in the firefighting operation said the team had to climb all the way up to the 22nd floor with the firefighting equipment, as there was no firemen lift in the building. “We lugged the heavy equipment all the way up to douse the fire,” he said.

When questioned on the lacuna, Nishant Agarwal, managing director, Avighna Group, said that the administration of One Avighna Park was formerly handed over to the society in 2021, which has been managing the building since then. “We deduce that the society members have maintained the high standards of safety and equipment that we had set, as a result of which the fire was brought under control immediately and there were no casualties,” said Agarwal. “Going

forward, it is imperative that every building and the society ensures good preparedness at all times so that in the unforeseen event of a fire, the action is quick and the damage minimised.”

One Avighna Park is a super-premium building in which most flats are bare shell to enable buyers to customise the interiors as they please. Fire department sources said, in the previous fire incident at the building, the valve of the fire system was closed by a flat owner carrying out fit-outs, and fire brigade teams had to open the valve to access the water supply.

(Additional inputs from Somita Pal and Satish Nandgaonkar)