Rail View building fire: Swift action by residents prevents casualties

Hemant Parab, chief fire officer shared, “Residents went to the periphery of the flat, where they could breathe. They went towards the grille, stood by windows and even went onto the parapet. I don’t recommend standing on a parapet but it was good that people had the presence of mind to go towards the periphery of their flats for air

Mumbai: Instead of panicking, residents of Rail View MIG Society in New Tilak Nagar, used their presence of mind upon learning that a fire broke out in their apartment on Saturday. They swiftly moved towards the periphery of their flats which helped prevent suffocation and casualties amid the emergency.

Mumbai, India - October 08, 2022: Residents trying to escape after a Level-2 fire broke out on the 12th floor of a residential building Rail View Housing Society around 2:45 pm in the afternoon. Around 33 people were safely rescued by firefighters from the building in the New Tilak Nagar area, near Lokmanya Tilak Terminus station, Chembur, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, October 08, 2022. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The flames started from the fire duct, adjacent to the elevator on the fourth floor and quickly, the heat and smoke filled the entire building up to the 12th floor.

Six residents are reported to be admitted to the general ward in SRV Hospital due to suffocation.

On Sunday, the fire brigade even disconnected the electricity and water supply of the society to investigate the origins of the fire.

Hemant Parab, chief fire officer shared, “Residents went to the periphery of the flat, where they could breathe. They went towards the grille, stood by windows and even went onto the parapet. I don’t recommend standing on a parapet but it was good that people had the presence of mind to go towards the periphery of their flats for air. Nobody tried to come out of their flats, which is noteworthy. They closed the entrance door and didn’t escape. This should be the practice. The firemen then wore the breathing apparatus and started searching all the flats. During the crucial moment, residents made the right decision but people usually panic and they don’t,” said Parab.

Parab further added that the fire brigade needs to estimate the damage incurred and there was a fire in the passage.

“The carbon soot has reached some entrance doors of flats and damaged them. The terrace door has been damaged due to heat. We have disconnected the electricity and water supply for further investigations,” said Parab.

Parab said that in case of a fire incident, even if one person errs and the entire crowd follows that person, it could lead to a major disaster.

“If people started moving, it would have become difficult for the fire brigade. What we generally do is kneel and go across. The sequence of action changes if there is heat coupled with smoke because we are trained to do so. That’s why residents made the right decision in coming to the periphery and clinging onto grilles and windows which gave them breathable air,” said Parab.

Residents from the fourth floor to the ground floor were not affected at all, but they are all living in the dark without water and electricity since Saturday.

Rahul Shivasharan, a resident of the 2nd-floor building said, “None of the flats is affected on our floor. Only the passages of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth floors and the terrace door are covered in soot. The inspection work is underway and we slept without electricity. The cleaning process is on,” he said.

Sainath Kreeda Mandal boys climbed upstairs and rescued a senior citizen from the twelfth floor on Saturday after the fire intensity was reduced. They went upstairs and broke open the door.

Kailash Andhre, who is admitted to the hospital is the treasurer of the society and his son is from the same mandal.

“We used a t-shirt as we didn’t have handkerchiefs. Because we panicked, we didn’t know we were supposed to use wet hankies to prevent suffocation. But we told people to go towards windows and periphery to get air and that helped to avoid suffocation to a great extent,” Rahul Shivasharan said.