The two cops saved lives of senior citizens when a SRA building caught fire on Oct 16
Kalpesh Mokal and Yogesh Patil
Two cops, attached to Wadala TT police station, risked their own lives to rescue people who were trapped inside an SRA building at Pratiksha Nagar Vrindavan society on October 14. A fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building. The constables—Kalpesh Mokal and Yogesh Patil—saved the lives of at least a dozen people including senior citizens.
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“On October 16, we got a call that the SRA highrise had caught fire. We reached the spot and saw fire spewing from the 4th floor. The society members were trapped in their respective floors,” said head constable Kalpesh Mohan Mokal. The fire had almost reached the 7th floor in a nick of time. “Many people were gathered on the ground floor of the building, some were pleading for help as their dear ones were trapped inside. We acted swiftly,” said Constable Yogesh Patil.
Both the officers started rescuing people from the 4th floor of the society, “Black smog proved to be a hindrance in the rescue operations. We had to act calm as people trapped inside were very scared,” Patil added. Before the fire brigade could arrive, the constables saved lives and avoided mishap. According to Mokal and Patil, the most challenging job was to save senior citizens who were trapped on the 7th floor.
“Their children had found a safe spot and they were pleading with us to save the lives of the senior citizens. Two elderly women were completely bedridden and they were pleading for help. We made them sit on a chair and grabbed them,” said Mokal. Both officers rescued Venkatesh Mulgiwar, Ujjwala Modavar and Rajana Kedar from the 7th floor of the building, to lift in the next wing and all the three were reunited with their families on the ground floor. According to Patil, they both couldn’t see anything as there was a thick layer of black smog all over, and everyone faced difficulty in breathing.
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The officers were then admitted to Somaiya Hospital and after receiving the initial treatment, they both were discharged. “Both the officers have done a commendable job, rescued 12 people from the building, the cause of the fire remains to be unknown as it is predicted that the AC duct caught fire and then it reached the gas pipeline,” said Senior PI Dnyaneswar Argade.
“I wasn’t present at my house when the incident took place, but there was black smog all over and there was dim visibility. But these two officer saved 12 lives. We are grateful for their prompt services,” said Yogesh Natekar, a resident of the building.
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