A major fire broke out on the 18th floor of a high-rise residential apartment block in Anna Nagar West during the early hours of Saturday.
The Fire Service personnel rescued 13 people trapped in one of the building’s upper floors.
A few residents and passers-by noticed thick smoke billowing from ‘B’ block of Newry Park Towers, near the Padi flyover. Soon after, residents began evacuating the building. While a majority managed to leave, a few were trapped on the 18th floor of the 20-storeyed building.
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Quick response
On receipt of an emergency call at 6.50 a.m, Fire and Rescue Service personnel rushed to the spot and turned off the building’s power supply.
Personnel and fire tenders were pressed into service from Villivakkam, Ambattur and J.J. Nagar.
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Fire engines with aerial ladder platforms were also deployed.
Jagadish Adapa, a businessman living opposite the building, said, “My son Manjesh lives in ‘A’ block. Two blocks are fully occupied. While thick smoke emanated from the top, we found a few residents standing in balconies waving their hands for help.”
S. Syed Mohammed Shah, District Fire Officer, told The Hindu , “Our personnel went to the 18th floor using the stairs. On reaching, we found the residents trapped and unable to move due to thick smoke that had spread everywhere. We then safely evacuated them one by one.”
The fire was triggered by a short-circuit in the cables that ran from the ground floor all the way to the top through a duct.
Hour-long struggle
The fire was put out after nearly an hour, the District Fire Officer said. Among the 13 rescued, Deepa Rajendran, 21, Basha, 85, and his wife Mashood, 75, were in a semi-conscious state and had to be carried by the fire service personnel to the ground floor. They were rushed to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital. The outer walls of many flats were torched.
Lack of maintenance
The duct for the cables was not properly maintained and this could be one of reasons for the fire, Fire Department officials added.
Manjesh Adapa, a rescue specialist, sustained a fracture in his hand during the incident, his family added.