Mumbai: Fire breaks out in Lalbaug building; neighbours rescue woman, 2 kids

The gutted roof of Meghwadi building no. 3. on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje

A woman and her two ten-year-old children owe their lives to their neighbours who swung into action seconds after a blaze erupted in her flat on the third floor of Meghwadi building no. 3 in Lalbaug on Tuesday. A neighbour, Akshata Divsalkar, suspecting there was an LPG leak in the room where the fire broke out, asked her son to wake up the flat's occupants around 4.45 am.

As the 27-year-old, Aniket Divsalkar, knocked on the door of the flat, Kunda Rane, 48, was sleeping with her children Atharva and Vaishnavi, a loud sound woke up the entire chawl. Kunda then opened the door. She was surrounded by flames and the blaze was spreading rapidly inside the room. Neighbours ran with blankets and managed to pull out the children.

The Rane's kitchen earlier in the day

"Every family takes turns to start the water connection in the morning. My wife woke up around 4.45 am as it was our turn. She noticed a smell emanating from the neighbouring room and asked our son to alert the family. My son reached them but was injured during the incident," said Vilas Disvalkar, Aniket's father.

Fire brigade officials said they received a call around 5 am from Meghwadi building no. 3 on Dr S S Rao Road, opposite Kshirsagar hotel. The fire was confined to an LPG cylinder, utensils and clothes in the kitchen of room no. 26 on the third floor of the ground-plus-three-storey structure.

Sarita Marathe, a neighbour who helped rescue the family, said, "Kunda's clothes were on fire and she was screaming in pain. We doused the blaze and ensured all four were admitted to hospitals. The fire brigade arrived within 10 minutes." Kunda and her children were rushed to the civic-run Kasturba Hospital and were later discharged against medical advice and admitted to the National Burns Centre in Airoli. Aniket was admitted to Masina Hospital in Byculla. All are said to be stable.

Kunda's husband had gone to the family's home town on Sunday evening. "He was supposed to return on Wednesday. There are rats so everyone keeps the windows shut. Maybe gas accumulated in the closed room. The cylinder is intact and no one knows how the fire erupted," said Shrikant Palav, a resident of the chawl.

Ranjana Patil, a neighbour said, "After we heard a blast, my husband rushed to the spot. We somehow managed to tame the blaze. One of the neighbours called an ambulance and fire brigade. The gas stove was still afire. The fire brigade doused it." She added that the roof was completely gutted by the blaze.