Mumbai: Rats start fire by toppling diya in Vasai

Everything in the house had turned to ashes by the time the fire brigade managed to douse the flames. Pics/Hanif Patel

Did rats burn down a Vasai house by toppling a diya from a shelf on to a mattress kept underneath it? The elderly couple whose house is a black mess now, insists that it was the rats, as it was overrun by the rodents. While no one was hurt in the blaze, it took the fire brigade over an hour to douse the flames.

The fire broke out in flat number two on the ground floor of the C wing of Sameer Apartments located at Sainagar, Vasai West. A senior citizen couple - Hasmukh Parmar and Bharti Parmar - who owns the house, were not present at the time of the incident.

It took the fire brigade more than an hour to douse the flames

According to Bharti, she had lit a lamp in the 'mandir' at her house and had gone out for some work. However, after a while locals spotted smoke coming out of the windows and immediately informed her. They also called the fire department of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and a team was immediately rushed to the spot. By the time the fire brigade managed to douse the flames, everything in the house had turned to ashes.

Speaking to mid-day, Bharti said, "There are a large number of rats in our house. They might have toppled the lamp kept in the temple and it fell on the mattress. A couple of more mattresses were kept next to the one on which it might have fallen, and hence, all of them got burnt. The fire has damaged even the washing machine and household materials."

"I was out for work and even my wife was not present at home when the incident happened. Everyday she lights a lamp in the small temple at our house. There are a lot of rats inside, so one of them might have toppled the lamp over the bed underneath and the mattress started burning. The fire burned down everything in the house," said Hasmukh.

When contacted, fireman Nishant Mahatre said, "When we got a call around 1 pm, we immediately rushed to the spot. It took four firemen, two fire officials and two fire engines almost an hour to extinguish the flames. The reason behind the fire is not yet known."

Bharti Parmar

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