As the firefighters scrambled to rescue residents of Tharvani Heights Cooperative Housing Society on Saturday night, they encountered the very obstacles the Fire Brigade always fears- combustible material, scaffolding erected to give a new coat to building. As a result, it took more than three hours to extinguish the fire that started around 9 pm.
“The fire started in the servants’ room on the eighth floor of the 27-storey building. Five fire tenders were rushed to douse the fire. Even after extinguishing the flames twice, the blaze did not die down easily as there was combustible material including paper that complicated the situation. Eventually the fire was brought under complete control around midnight. Around 35 residents, including children and senior citizens were rescued during the evacuation process,” said Purushottam Jadhav from Vashi fire station.
The Navi Mumbai Fire Brigade will now investigate if Tharvani Heights Cooperative Housing Society in conducted the mandatory fire audit of the building's firefighting system. Challenges arose during the firefighting efforts as the existing firefighting system was not as per new norms.
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The ongoing renovation, including whitewashing, presented additional challenges, with wooden scaffolding hindering firefighting efforts. A representative of the building society stated that an audit had been conducted previously. They are currently investigating the incident, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.