Top floors of posh high-rise gutted
MUMBAI: Two firemen were injured fighting a massive fire that charred the top three floors of a high-rise in Prabhadevi on Wednesday. The fire took more than four hours to be put out. Ninety-five people were evacuated from the 33-storey building, where actor Deepika Padukone too owns an apartment.
No other injuries were reported, with residents of the Beaumonde Towers saying alarms went off within minutes of the fire breaking out at 2.10 pm. Fire brigade officials said the fire broke out on the 32nd floor of the building’s B wing, and spread one floor above and below over the next two hours.
The disaster management cell said the flat where the fire began was empty and owned by one Harish Wabhiyani. Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 6.30 pm, but cooling operations were underway till late evening. The cause is not known yet. Firemen Harishchandra Raorane, 54, and Shivaji Achrekar, 53, were hospitalised after suffocating while dousing flames. They are both in a stable condition.
The fire brigade deployed 12 engines, eight tankers and two turntable ladders; 60 officials were at the spot, but it still took hours to put the fire out as winds fanned the flames, officials said.
The water pipes could not reach the top floors as it was blocked by the building’s structures at the base. Deputy chief fire officer R Chaudhari said the fire brigade was yet to confirm if fire clearances were in place. “But the in-builtsystemwasfunctioning,” he said. This system, the riser system — a fire-fighting equipment connected to hose pipes on each floor— helped the fire brigade douse flames. “Eight water lines from the fire brigade’s tankers helped transfer water into the building’s riser system,” he said.
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