A massive fire took place in Prabhadevi’s Beaumonde Towers in Mumbai on Wednesday. The fire was reported on the 33rd floor of B wing of the Beaumonde Towers at around 2.10 pm.
With the flames raging huge, fire brigade officials termed it a level two fire.
Around 90 to 95 people were rescued by the fire brigade officials from the building. The fire quickly spread to two floors.
According to the fire brigade officials, a person by the name Harish Vabhiyani owned the duplex penthouse where the fire is said to have started. Vabhiyani and his family members are abroad, and according to sources, a caretaker and a few servants were in the house when the fire broke out.
The fire brigade had managed to get into the burning flats even though they encountered intense heat, smoke and wind at the upper level.
It took about four hours for the fire brigade team to contain the fire after which the cooling process was initiated.
The fire brigade is equipped to handle firefighting only till the 27th floor. Because of the fire raging at higher levels, fire ladders brought in by the agency were parked unused.
Even the glass facade of the building did not help the firefighting. However, the fire brigade officials were all praises for the internal firefighting system installed in the building.
The fire brigade officials emptied out their water tankers into the building’s tanks and then installed “risers” which is a pipe or system of pipes through which water can flow, to help with the operation of fire hoses on upper floors of a building and bring in water for firefighting.
Chief fire officer Prabhat Rahangdale said, “This is a lesson to learn. Firefighting on vertical heights is always challenging and effective if fought within the building. As the building’s internal fire installation i.e riser was working we could operate 6 to 8 firefighting jets in 32nd, 33rd floor and terrace level using Breathing Sets. The internal firefighting system helped tremendously to contain the spread of fire to other flats. Hence all high rise buildings should maintain fire equipment’s in good working conditions.”
Two fire officials — 54-year-old Harishchandra Raorane and 53-year-old Shivaji Achrekar — suffered due to intense smoke and had to be rushed to the hospital where their condition is said to be stable.
Actor Deepika Padukone has a house in the very building that caught fire. The actress was not at home at the time of the incident. She later tweeted, “I am safe.Thank You everyone. Let us pray for our firefighters who are at site risking their lives…”
Even though later in the evening the fire was brought under control, the cooling process was still on till late.
Because of this, the electricity connection to the building could not be restored. Most of the residents of the building either chose to stay at their relatives or moved to the nearest hotels to spend the night.
After the cooling process, police and fire officials will sit down to conduct an investigation to find out what led to the fire. India today
