Residents safe after building catches fire

NAVI MUMBAI: A section of Goodwill Paradise Housing Society in Kharghar was gutted after a fire broke out on the C wing in the sixth floor on Tuesday.

However, no one was injured thanks to an alert resident Shraddha who noticed the fire on the electric wiring around 12.35 pm and called Kalamboli fire brigade and the police control room.

Two police constables Prakash Patil and Manish who were in the area helped in moving some of the residents to safety. By the time three fire tenders arrived from Kharghar station, the entrance doors and ceiling of the corridors from second to seventh floor were gutted.

Fire officer MD Naik said six to eight people were rescued from the fire which was probably caused by short circuit.

Residents and police officials said the building’s firefighting equipment did not function due to poor maintenance. They blamed it on the builder who was not available for comment.

Sachin Shiwale, assistant police inspector of Kharghar police station, said the builder would be questioned over this. “Fortunately, there were no casualties. All residents were rescued by fire fighters,” he said. HP Pande, a resident of the building, said the fire fighters arrived late.

“They reached the spot 40 to 45 minutes after we called them. Besides this, their equipments were in poor condition,” he said.

He requested the authorities concerned to take action against the builder who allegedly failed to ensure proper maintenance of fire extinguishers and water pipes.

BACHCHAN KUMAR Residents and fire officials inspect the damage caused by the fire that broke out on Tuesday.