A fire broke out in a 28 storey building at Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (west), early on Wednesday. Ten people, two of them septuagenarians, were admitted to two hospitals due to suffocation. According to the fire brigade, the fire was confined to electrical ducts and did not spread to the lobby or passage of Shivsakthi building. The blaze fully put out by 5.10 am.
While fire brigade officials said the fire may have erupted in electrical cables due to a short circuit in the electrical duct on the 24th floor, residents claimed it erupted even on the 14th floor of the building which has 107 flats. Residents of higher floors were told to remain confined to their houses as smoke spread through the electrical duct and staircase.
"People were saved because somebody shut electricity supply and the fire brigade came on time. The watchman called me up and told me there was a fire and asked me to come down. My wife and I tried to get down the staircase. But I realised that I couldn't come down due to the smoke that I was inhaling and went back to my flat. Access to the terrace was closed and keys were with some committee members. Therefore, we confined ourselves to our flat. All other flats on the floor I live were vacant. Around 4.30 am, fire brigade officials knocked on our door and asked me to stay inside. Though the fire was extinguished, the staircase and other areas still had smoke," said Naresh Raval, 63. a resident of the 28th floor.