As fire engulfs building, connecting window helps in evacuation of trapped occupants

About 10 occupants, who were trapped in the building which caught fire, managed to escape to the adjacent building through a connecting window. Around 50-60 people, including those from the neighbouring buildings, were evacuated safely, according to the BMC’s disaster management department.

Mumbai: A massive fire erupted engulfing five floors of a six-storeyed building, which is seemingly sandwiched between two other buildings, at 1.38am on Dhanji Street in Zaveri Bazaar on Friday. No loss of life has been reported and one person was treated for minor injuries. The fire was doused around 8am by the fire brigade.

Mumbai, India - June 09, 2023: A 40-year-old man suffered minor injury and over 50 people trapped were safely evacuated by the Mumbai Fire Brigade using the staircase of the adjacent building after a Level-3 fire broke out in a ground-plus-five storey building in the early hours around 1.38 am, on Dhanji Street, China Bazar, near Mumbadevi Temple, Zaveri Bazar, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, June 09, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

About 10 occupants, who were trapped in the building which caught fire, managed to escape to the adjacent building through a connecting window. Around 50-60 people, including those from the neighbouring buildings, were evacuated safely, according to the BMC’s disaster management department. The cooling operations were still going on.

Vijay Choksi, who lived with his family on the fourth floor of the building, said he woke up at around 1:30am as he smelled smoke. He then saw fire in a ground floor shop of the building.

“There is a connecting window between our flat and the adjacent building, When I saw the fire, along with my two other family members, I immediately moved to safety through that window,” he said.

Choksi added that the fire started on the ground floor and soon engulfed the whole building. He said, “We are still not allowed to go inside. We don’t know if anything is left untouched by fire. It looks like everything inside is burnt down.”

“We have an alternate accommodation nearby, we will move there,” he said.

Forty-year-old Parag Chakankar suffered minor injuries on his right hand. He was treated and discharged in an onsite ambulance, said BMC.

In a press statement released as the firefighting was going on, the Mumbai Fire brigade said, “Portions of ceiling on the first and the second floor and a part of the staircase have collapsed. As a precautionary measure, we are fighting the fire from outside the building.”

Manjit Mahapatra, a migrant worker from Kolkata, who used to live in one of the offices in the building, said, “When I heard about the fire, I ran and exited through the connecting window to the adjacent building. I am waiting for them (fire and police) to allow us to go inside. I had left behind my mobile phone and other essentials.”

Mahavir Nahta, who owns a computer spare parts shop in the building, said, “As the fire erupted at night, there were fewer people, and a major tragedy was averted. I lost everything that was in my shop. I will have to start from scratch.”

Although the fire brigade has yet to ascertain the cause of the fire, Hausila Prasad Gupta, a member of the Dhanji Street traders’ group, said, “These are all decades-old buildings. Some even 60-70 years old. There are a lot of open wires everywhere in the lane, which must have caused this fire.”

Sanjay Manjrekar, chief fire officer, said, “It is too early to say that short circuit caused the fire. Our officers brought the fire under control and cooling operations are on.” The BMC declared the fire as level III at 3:35am.