Mumbai: In panic, they succumbed to the smoke and heat

Residents say they were not even aware that those on the higher floors were in danger, as mother-son killed due to extreme heat as they tried to rush downstairs

Two British citizens—a 42-year-old doctor and her six-year-old son—died after a fire broke out in a first-floor flat in the building in which they were temporarily staying in Kandivli West. The deceased, Dr Glory Valthaty—one of the three sisters of cricketer Paul Valthaty—and Joshua James Roberts, were on the fourth floor of the Pavan Dham Veena Santoor building at Mahavir Nagar at the time of the incident. The blaze did not spread beyond the first floor, and the victims succumbed to injuries after venturing out of their flat. Three women were hospitalised after sustaining serious injuries.

Rajeshwari Bhartare—Dr Glory’s mother’s 24-year-old caregiver—and a domestic worker Lakshmi Bura, 40, sustained 90 per cent and 45-50 per cent burn injuries respectively while a 76-year-old resident, Ranjan Shah, suffered 45 to 50 per cent burn injuries and was admitted to a private hospital. 

Residents told mid-day that if the mother and son hadn’t stepped out of their flat, they would have been alive.

The Pavan Dham Veena Santoor building at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli West on Monday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Deputy Fire Officer Prashant Parulekar told mid-day, “The fire was confined to only one flat on the first floor. As the door was open, two doors on the opposite side of the flat also got burnt. Heat and smoke reached the sixth floor.”

He added that the deceased, maid and caretaker had possibly tried to escape from the flat. “But there was thick smoke due to the burning of inflammable materials as well as heat. There was zero visibility. When our team reached the fourth floor we found them lying outside the flat,” he added.

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The fire broke out in the F wing of the complex, which was built around 12 to 15 years ago. There are 32 two-BHK flats in each of the complex’ eight wings. Some families reside in two flats that are attached internally like the one on the fourth floor where Paul resides.

Cause unknown for now

Though the cause of the blaze is still not known, fire officials said it could have originated from the gas stove. Other possible causes could be a PNG leakage or a diya inside a shrine. “The kitchen was gutted and it is now difficult to find out the exact reason,” said an official.

Nilesh Desai, a secretary of the Veena Santoor complex, said, “The watchman alerted us around 12 noon. We were all sitting in the society office, around 100 metres away. We all ran to the spot and rescued three residents from the flat on the first floor and started dousing the fire.”

At the time, an old woman was living alone inside the flat number, which belonged to Pinkesh Jain, her son. When her daughter-in-law and five-year-old grandson returned from school, they noticed the fire in the kitchen and raised an alarm. All three of them are safe.”

Another resident, Abhay Panchmia, said many residents were rescued by neighbours from the second and third floors.

Harrowing account

Harsh Soni, a third-floor resident, said, “I received a call from my neighbour who stays opposite my flat. He told me that his mother, Ranjan Shah, was alone inside and that I should rescue her. When I opened my door, the heat was tremendous. I tried to go outside and open the door of her flat but it was too hot. By that time, everyone started shouting and my family and I ran down.”

Parulekar said that there was a functional fire-fighting system inside the building but it got ruptured due to the heat. He also said that they received a call almost one hour after the fire broke out, around 12.20 pm. “As per our estimation, the fire broke out around 11.15 am. If the residents called us while simultaneously trying to douse the fire, it would have spread so much,” he said. 

76-yr-old suffers burns

Ranjan Shah, the septuagenarian, who lives on the third floor, suffered burns on her hands and feet. She had suffered a stroke a year-and-a-half ago after which she suffered spinal problems, causing her to be bent over from the waist. She lives with her sister and brother, who were out of the house at the time of the fire.

When Shah was alerted about the fire, she came out of the house and reached for the staircase railing. The heat from the metal railing burnt her hands and caused her to fall to the ground, which was also burning hot, leading to Shah sustaining burns on her legs. One of Shah’s relatives told mid-day, “She has burns on their hands and legs. We don’t know who brought her down. Her condition is not too serious, doctors have told us, but recovery will take time.”

11.15am
Approximate time that the fire broke out in the building

76yrs
Age of oldest victim

Inputs by Bakulesh Trivedi

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