Fire brigade rescues 150 Thane high-rise residents from blaze in timely manner

Giriraj Heights at Vaity Wadi in Thane. Pic/Sameer Markande

Around 150 residents of a high-rise in Thane were rescued with the help of the fire brigade, the Disaster Cell, and the police, after a fire broke out there on Friday. The fire was in the cable duct at 26-storey Giriraj Heights, Vaity Wadi. The fire spread from the ground to the 26th floor, engulfing the wires and filling passages with smoke, leading residents to panic.

Everyone's safe
The Regional Disaster Management Cell and fire brigade officials brought four fire engines, two water tankers, one branto vehicle, two rescue vehicles and two ambulances. Santosh Kadam, a senior official from the Cell, said, "Almost 150 residents were rescued. Later the cooling operation was carried out." "Around three people, who were unable to move on their own, were taken to a safe place. It was not a huge fire, but the cables were completely burnt, resulting in a lot of smoke," added Kadam.

Also read: Fire behind showroom opposite Phoenix Mills

Cops jump in
Naupada police inspector Sanjay Dhumal, accompanied by four policemen and two policewomen, said they formed two teams for the rescue. "Manohar Patil, who resides on the fourth floor, started screaming for help, saying a toddler was suffocating. I climbed up on the bamboos put around the building for maintenance work and tried to calm them. I asked him to open the ventilator and bathroom windows, and told fire officials to reach the floor as Patil, a senior citizen, was stuck with five others and a girl. They couldn't get out as the passage was full of smoke. He was asking us to take the kid out, but there were grilles; so, staircase was the best option," said Dhumal.

"We were told about people stuck on the eighth and 24th floors. The upper floor residents, including the family of a Regional Transport Official, went to the terrace. We went upstairs with others for rescue work nearly three times."

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