Five residents rescued from blazing building

It was a narrow escape for five people, including a senior citizen, when a fire broke out at Ajay Apartments at Taware Colony in Parvatidarshan area on Sunday.

The people, who were trapped on the first floor of the three-storied building, were rescued by the fire brigade after a half-an-hour operation.

Katraj fire station duty officer, Sanjay Ramteke said he and five firemen were involved in the operation. “We used masks, oxygen cylinders and a fire engine in the entire operation. It took about 15 minutes for us to douse the blaze, but a lot more time for the smoke to get dispersed,” he said.

Ramteke added, “We suspect that an electric short circuit was the cause of the fire as the blaze started from the meter box near the entrance of the building on the ground floor.”
He said the fire spread rapidly and engulfed a motorcycle parked nearby.

“On receiving a tip-off, we rushed to the spot. By then, the entire building was filled with thick smoke. The visibility was poor and we feared that the trapped people may suffer from asphyxia due to the smoke.

“To avoid more complications, we decided to use masks and oxygen cylinders to carry out the rescue operation. Putting out the fire by itself was not a tough job as the flames were contained on the ground floor,” he added.