The fire that broke out in a ground-plus-16-floor building in Central Mumbai’s Parel area left four killed and 16 injured. The injured thankfully are stable and undergoing treatment at KEM Hospital.
However, given the intensity of the fire, it’s a miracle that so many people survived. The fire department categorized the incident as a grade 4 fire, which means it was a high-intensity fire.
According to the fire department, the fire was confined to the electric wiring between floor 12 and floor 16 in lift lobby, the common corridor, lift shafts and also to electric wiring installation and entire 12 floor flats.
Yet, it was the alertness of residents and people living in the surrounding area who rushed to the aid as soon as the fire broke out restore faith in humanity in the middle of the horrific incident.
A practical approach to teacher’s lesson
11-year-old Zen Gunratan Sadavarte, who lives in flat 1601 is one such hero. After a lesson in school where her teacher told her the do's and don'ts while tackling a fire, Zen asked 15-16 people around her to cover their nose with a wet cloth to prevent getting suffocated. In the process, she showed great presence of mind in a critical situation.
The ‘perfect setting’
Another resident, Salomi Hyams, who resides in the ninth floor of the building, had made an arrangement to share a common balcony with her neighbour. "This turned out to be a blessing, as she was pulled out by the fire department from the neighbour's flat. The iron door was too hot to touch," she told DNA.
People, who did not live in the building, also came to the aid of residents.
Narendra Tembulkar, a resident of Velhad Niwas Building, located near Crystal Tower, immediately rushed when he saw smoke.The employee of BEST's streetlighting department, along with the police that had reached before the fire department because of the close proximity of the police station to the building, started helping police officers in the rescue process. "I managed to pull out a gas cylinder from one of the homes. We also pulled out some people from the flats. They were choking because of the smoke, but they were stable," he said.
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 "Residents of Crystal Tower in Parel recount the fire")
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