Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A four-storey building near Delhi Gate was suddenly engulfed by fire late Friday night. The fire was noticed in time, and fire brigade personnel along with locals successfully rescued a woman from the top floor and a 16-year-old boy, ensuring their safe escape.
Shaikh Altaf Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed owns a commercial and residential building called Aftab Plaza near Delhi Gate. The basement is used for parking, while the upper floors house a cafe and gym, equipped with modern machinery. Families reside on the top floor. At 3 am on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, smoke started billowing from the first floor of the building. By the time the incident was noticed, the fire began to spread aggressively. Within moments, the flames reached the top floor. As soon as the fire brigade section received the information, their officers and personnel rushed to the scene.
Six fire tenders; three tankers
The fire continued to smoulder for nearly an hour. Fire brigade jawans Haribhau Ghuge, Harishchandra Pawar, Sanjay Kulkarni, and Mushtaq Tadvi reached the spot. Two gas cylinders from the cafe were immediately removed to prevent further danger. With the help of six fire tenders and three tankers, they were able to bring the fire under control. In this incident, the gym equipment, household items, furniture, and two parked motorcycles under the building were completely burned.
As soon as the fire was detected, the family living in the building came down. However, a 16-year-old boy was trapped in the bedroom on the top floor. Firefighters quickly climbed to the nearby building’s rooftop using a ladder. Meanwhile, other firefighters were spraying water on the front portion of the building. The boy was safely rescued through the window. In this incident, the entire front part of the building was destroyed by fire.
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According to the owners and others, the fire brigade were late in reaching by 10-20 minutes. According to the family sources, “ There were 12 family members including six children staying on the top floors. On seeing smoke billows and a raw smell emanating due to fire, all came down the stairs at around 3 am. Within 5-10 minutes the fire flames got aggressive and moved from down to upwards. The building and two vehicles including one moped and one bike turned into ashes in front of our eyes. Thank God, we all got saved from this untoward fire incident.”
Acting upon the information, the City Chowk police station and MSEDCL officers visited the site. The municipal commissioner G Sreekanth also paid a visit at 8.30 am, they said.
Meanwhile, the burnt site was a stopover of every person passing by on vehicles.