MUMBAI: Dhiren Nalinkant Shaha chemist with a shop in Gaiwadi, couldn’t abandon his 80-year-old bedridden motherNalini, despite a raging blaze which broke out around 9pm on Saturday in Jethabhai Govindji building, Girgaon. Dhiren remained at their thirdfloor home. The fire brigade suspects a short circuit in the electric box on the ground floor as the possible trigger for the blaze, with the old wooden stairs intensifying its spread.
While the rest of Dhiren’s family left the century-old structure as the fire spread, the 60-year-old chose to stay with his recently discharged, bedridden mother.The Shah’s, a joint family, lived adjacent to a building undergoing redevelopment. “A plank was used to connect the building on fire to the adjacent high-rise for rescue,” said a fire officer. “But Dhiren hesitated as leaving his mother alone was not an option. By the time our teams controlled the flames, the blaze had already reached their home.”
Neighbors were shocked to see Dhiren suc cumb to the blaze while others were brought out through the connecting plank. The three-story wooden structure with Mangalore tile roofing suffered extensive damage as the flames rapidly spread. Located near Chowpatty, the old building lacked a fire-fighting system.
Salome Shah, a resident, said people had to break grilles of homes to exit as the building’s entry was engulfed in flames. “The only exit was from the windows,” Shah said. The fire was extinguished around 3.35am on Sunday.
Later in the morning, residents were compelled to evacuate their homes as the building became uninhabitable due to absence of electricity and widespread fire-related debris.
While the rest of Dhiren’s family left the century-old structure as the fire spread, the 60-year-old chose to stay with his recently discharged, bedridden mother.The Shah’s, a joint family, lived adjacent to a building undergoing redevelopment. “A plank was used to connect the building on fire to the adjacent high-rise for rescue,” said a fire officer. “But Dhiren hesitated as leaving his mother alone was not an option. By the time our teams controlled the flames, the blaze had already reached their home.”
Neighbors were shocked to see Dhiren suc cumb to the blaze while others were brought out through the connecting plank. The three-story wooden structure with Mangalore tile roofing suffered extensive damage as the flames rapidly spread. Located near Chowpatty, the old building lacked a fire-fighting system.
Salome Shah, a resident, said people had to break grilles of homes to exit as the building’s entry was engulfed in flames. “The only exit was from the windows,” Shah said. The fire was extinguished around 3.35am on Sunday.
Later in the morning, residents were compelled to evacuate their homes as the building became uninhabitable due to absence of electricity and widespread fire-related debris.