A fire broke out at a commercial building in Andheri on Monday afternoon. The fire brigade rescued around 70 people and no casualties were reported.
According to officials, the blaze was reported in the Tower A of Peninsula Business Park on Veera Desai Road. Officials said some people working in the building saw smoke emanating from the sixth floor windows of the 22-storey structure and called the fire brigade.
“The incident was classified as a Level II emergency and four fire engines, along with three jumbo tankers were rushed to the spot. The firefighting system in the building was in working condition and was used in the operation, leading to it being extinguished within a short time,” Chief Fire Officer P.S. Rahangdale said.
Officials said the blaze might have broken out due to a short circuit in one of the air conditioning units in the building but are verifying this. It was confined to the electric ducts from the sixth floor to the 12th floor and 68 people were rescued from the terrace with the use of ladders, officials said.
“Though the fire was largely on the exterior of the building, four people were injured due to the flames and suffered asphyxiation because of the smoke. Two of them, Purush Akhilkar (31) and Pooja Bhate (35) were given first aid in the ambulance and discharged while Anuradha Tiwari (22) and Akhira D’costa (age unknown) were taken to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri (West),” a fire officer said.
Ninad Siddhaye, a media consultant said, “My daughter and her team was amidst a dance rehearsal in a studio in the building when fire struck. They saw smoke rising from the windows and immediately vacated the place. They had a narrow escape. All of them are safe now.”
