Fire breaks out in SoBo high-rise; no casualty

Santosh Sawant, deputy chief fire officer said there was a short circuit in the electric duct in the passage on the fifth floor, and the fire reached up to the eighth floor which spread the smoke. The fire which started at 8am was doused by 9.50am

Mumbai: A fire broke out in a ground-plus-21-floor residential building - Chistiya Palace, near Agripada police station on Monday at 8am which was doused within two hours by the Mumbai Fire Brigade officials. No injuries or casualties were reported as the one-year-old building is still partly occupied with only six families, who were evacuated on time.

Mumbai, India –Nov 27, 2023: A fire broke out in the electric duct of a ground-plus- 21 floored Chistiya Palace building, at Agripada, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, Nov 27, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The blaze which was declared ‘level-one’ (minor emergency) was confined to the electric wiring and installations in an electric duct between the fifth and eighth floor.

Santosh Sawant, deputy chief fire officer said there was a short circuit in the electric duct in the passage on the fifth floor, and the fire reached up to the eighth floor which spread the smoke. The fire which started at 8am was doused by 9.50am.

“The trend these days is a raw flat is handed over to the owners, and occupants later bring in a contractor to add the fittings and three to four instruments are used on the same socket for granite cutting and other purposes which consume a lot of power. The cables or electric codes of wiring heat up easily and it in-turn leads to a short circuit,” said Sawant.

Sawant added the building’s fire fighting system was in working condition and it did have a fire NOC.

The building was occupied by six families who were brought down via staircase and some 10 residents were evacuated by the firemen. “When the fire broke out, residents opened the door of the emergency staircase and smoke spread to other top floors. This is a mistake and caution should be exercised to keep the emergency door shut in the staircase to prevent smoke from spreading,” said Sawant.

A resident who escaped said that luckily the fire was near the lift area and by the time the fire brigade came in they were evacuated. “The watchman had shut the mains in the nick of time. The majority of flats are shut, and some retrofitting work is going on. Luckily, there is no loss of life or belongings,” said the resident.