Firefighters rescue 12 stranded on upper floors of burning Mumbai building, douse blaze

Mumbai city news: Firefighters rescued residents who had climbed the upper floors to escape the smoke

As many as 12 people were rescued after a fire broke out at a 10-storey residential building in Worli on Sunday afternoon. Residents had climbed the upper floors to escape the smoke, said firefighters. No one was reported injured.

The disaster management department received a call at 4:30 pm, saying Himalaya building on RJ Thadani Marg near Flora Hotel had caught fire. (HT)

The disaster management department received a call at 4:30 pm, saying Himalaya building on RJ Thadani Marg near Flora Hotel had caught fire. The blaze was confined to the electric wiring, electric installation, false ceiling, clothes, split AC unit, iron and wooden furniture in a locked flat on the fifth floor.

Eight fire engines, five jumbo water tankers and an ambulance doused the flames within three hours. “The fire was extinguished after we broke open the locked flat and cut the electric supply,” said PS Rahangdale, chief fire officer.

An official said the high-rise’s firefighting system was defunct. “We regularly send notices to societies, asking residents to follow fire safety norms. We send compliance notices, asking them to fix their firefighting systems. Despite this, we come across structures that either do not have firefighting systems, or those that are defunct,” he said.