One fireman died and at least 20 of his colleagues were injured while they were battling an inferno that broke out in an Andheri high rise on Friday morning. This was one-of-a-kind of an incident, in which firemen themselves had to be rescued. There were no reports of civilian casualties.
This is the second such incident in less than a month’s time. On June 21, a major fire had broken out at the 20-storey Naman Midtown Tower in Parel. Two firemen received injuries in that incident.
Where did it happen
The fire broke out on the 21st floor of Lotus Business Park around 9am. The fire brigade reached the spot around 9.45am. By that time, the fire had already spread to the other floors.
Who was the deceased
Fireman Nitin Yewalekar, 30. He jumped to the 21st floor from the 22nd floor. That's when he was engulfed by flames and died due to suffocation. He is survived by wife and two daughters.
How the fire broke out
Yet to to be ascertained. But the building's internal fire fighting was not functional. Since there was no
electricity, hydrants were not working. Electric ducts across floors were not sealed. As a result, fire spread fast.
The damage and Hrithik Roshan
The 21st and 22nd floors mainly housed media offices and they were gutted. Actor Hrithik Roshan had offices at the 4th, 5th, 15th, 16th and 17th floors. Hrithik came to the spot on Friday around 11.30am. He paid respects to the firemen by tweeting, “Respect for the brave firemen who risked their lives today
to extinguish the flames.”
How serious was the fire
It was a brigade call – the most serious grade. Under a brigade call, all fire stations across the city and suburban areas are put on alert to be ready for service any minute. Grade I, II and III are other categories
The hoax call
Deputy chief fire officer Sunil Nesarikar said a lot of time was wasted after they received a hoax call that a woman was trapped inside the lift at the 13th floor. “We reached the lift after a lot of difficulty only to find it left was vacant,” he said.
Men and machine involved
215 firemen, 150 policement
22 fire engines, 12 water tankers
8 water jets, 9 ambulances
4 ladders and skylifts each (one of them 62 metre tall)
3 choppers
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