22-year-old dead, 6 injured in major fire at a building in south Mumbai

A 22-year-old man died and six others, including three firemen, were injured in a major fire that broke out at a ground-plus-five-storey commercial building on Grant

A 22-year-old man died and six others, including three firemen, were injured in a major fire that broke out at a ground-plus-five-storey commercial building on Grant Road on Sunday morning. While witnesses said the fire may have erupted owing to a short circuit in the water supply motor, the fire brigade is yet to carry out an investigation.

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The fire at Aditya Arcade, Padamsee, Grant Road (East), was reported at 6.06am from the ground and first floors of the building, which primarily houses hardware shops and offices. Although it was a level two (minor) fire at 6.15am, the blaze escalated to level four (major) by 8.53am. The fire was contained by 6.13pm, and extinguished by 8.28pm.

Chief fire officer, PS Rahangdale, said the fire was confined to the electric duct of the staircase. “The black smoke from the wiring, which was burnt, made it difficult for those stranded in the building to escape,” he said.

The deceased, Uttamkumar, who had come to collect some stock at the building on Saturday, had stayed back as he got late, said witnesses. “One person unfortunately died and we found him near the staircase area. He probably wanted to escape, but chose the wrong exit,” said Rahangdale. Uttamkumar was declared dead on arrival at Sir JJ Hospital. Six people — Dilip Choudhary, 40; Ashok Choudhary, 23; Bharat Choudhary, 23, and three firemen, Sudan Gore, Nandakumar Shankar Wayal and Avinash Pardeshi —were injured. They complained of suffocation, but are stable now.

Rahangdale said they used thermal imaging to detect the fire and 60 breathing apparatus sets owing to the intense smoke. “We also used battery-operated grill cutters from Israel,” he said.

Around five to six people who were stranded on the terrace were also rescued by the fire brigade using turntable ladders. Subodh Yadav, 19, who works in an office on the second floor, said, “Around 6-6.30am, we heard noises coming from below. Thick black smoke was coming out so we could not go down. Most of the stock in the building includes hardware. We asked the watchman about the cause of the fire. He said when he switched off the water supply motor, there was a spark and lights went out, and then there was fire.” Dilip Chowdhary, 30, who was among those rescued, said, “I came to visit my brother at his office and decided to sleep. We woke up to smoke and heat... we couldn’t see the way.”

Rahangdale said a detailed investigation will be carried out to detect the cause of the fire and stern action will be initiated under the fire safety act if norms were flouted.