Survivors of the Parel high rise fire recount their stories
Azmat Shaikh
Case 1: When smoke suffocated Eid festivities
Several families in Crystal Building were gearing up to celebrate Eid; they didn't know then that it was soon going to turn dark, literally. It was a harrowing Wednesday morning for residents of the 10th and 11th floors after the fire broke out. While the men had gone to the mosque for namaaz, the women and children were at home.
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Azmat Shaikh, a resident on the 11th floor, said, "I had gone for namaaz with my father when we received a panic call informing us about the fire. We rushed back, but there was no way we could make our way up, and neither could our family members come down. I saw a couple of men trying to go upstairs in the lift; I advised them to not. "There was nothing else to be done but ask our families to make their way to the balcony until help arrived."
Zahid Shaikh, whose uncle Shaikh Mashuq Safi, 47, and cousin Shaikh Waqar, 25, were stuck on the 12th floor, said, "I was preparing for Eid when I got a call from my uncle. I took my friends and went for rescue. My uncle and cousin asked us to rescue my aunt and sister first, but in the time it took us to get them out, the two men had become unconscious because of the smoke. Thankfully, fire brigade reached in time and rescued them. They were saved but have suffered injuries."
Pallavi Smart and Anamika Gharat
Firefighter Raju Narawade and Dolly Maithun at KEM Hospital
Case 2: On his first op, fireman wins hearts
Among the five firefighters injured while rescuing residents from Parel's Crystal Building is 22-year-old Raju Narawade, who was on his first rescue mission. But the young fighter has won hearts by saving eight lives. Dolly Maithun, 45, a resident of ninth floor, is especially grateful to him as he saved her entire family that had got trapped due to the smoke.
Narawade, who was running from the sixth to the ninth floor, evacuating people, smashed the glass on the windows for creating ventilation, injuring himself in the process.
"Residents had become breathless due to the smoke; so, I broke the glass to allow some air in and push the smoke out. In doing that some glass shards pierced my hand," he said.
Both Dolly and Narawade are undergoing treatment at KEM Hospital. "He has minor injuries; the glass pieces that went inside his hand had to be removed via a small procedure. We have put him on oxygen as he inhaled a lot of smoke, but is completely stable," said a senior doctor.
Rupsa Chakraborty
Shubhada Shirke
Case 3: Locked terrace led to her slow death
Shubhada Shirke, 60, a retired banker, was getting ready to meet her friends for Eid. And had the door to her building's terrace been open, she probably would have been able to. The Crystal Building resident died due to suffocation yesterday after being unable to escape onto the terrace as the door was locked.
Shubhada stayed alone in a flat on the 12th floor. Her daughter stays in Pune and her son Tejas is a Major in the Indian Army. Her niece Shrutika Patil, who stays in Hindmata, said, "Around 8 am, she called up my brother Jayant. She sounded scared and asked him to come and rescue her." Jayant rushed there but himself got stuck on the 11th floor. He was later rescued by the fire brigade.
Shrutika added, "Fire officers told us they found her body outside the terrace. There should have been some emergency exit route to escape such a situation." P S Rahangdale, chief fire officer, said, "These problems [of the terrace door kept locked] will be mentioned in our report of the incident; action will be taken."
Anamika Gharat
Inputs: Chetna Yerunkar
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