Two firemen were killed and two others suffered severe burn injuries after a five storey building in Kalbadevi area of South Mumbai collapsed while fire-fighters were trying to douse a massive blaze that broke out yesterday evening.
Two senior fire officers-SW Rane and MN Desai were pulled out from the debris late last night and rushed to GT hospital where they were declared brought dead, confirmed the hospital. The blaze was brought under control by 12 pm.
SG Amin, Additional Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO) sustained 90 percent burns, while Sunil Nesarikar, Chief Fire Officer sustained 50 percent burns. Nesarikar was one of the senior fire officer actively involved in 26/11 Taj rescue operation. Both the officers were rushed to the National Burns Centre, Airoli.
Four of the building’s residents-senior citizen Jaywanta Pol, her two daughters and a granddaughter were rescued unhurt as firemen helped them jump from the terrace of their building to that of an adjoining building.
The fire brigade struggled for six hours to control the fire but in vain. The blaze weakened the old building, which caved in around 9 pm. Property worth crores of rupees is believed to have perished. The over A century old structure was under renovation and collapsed as it could not sustain the heat.
The police said initial information suggested that the fire started on a lower floor and the garments in the godowns fuelled its spread.
