Navi Mumbai: A major fire broke out in a commercial building in Sanpada on Thursday afternoon. The fire started from the 12th floor and soon spread to an office on the 13th floor before the fire brigade team reached the spot. Some employees trapped in the 13th-floor office were rescued by the firefighters.
Rohan Kokate, Vashi fire station officer, said, “Around 3 pm, we received an emergency call that fire smoke was emanating from an office on the 12th floor in Bhumiraj Costarica commercial building. As it was a high-rise building, we summoned Bronto Skylift that reaches 68 metres to enable the firefighting rescue team to reach the office on the 12th floor. The employees in all the offices of the commercial building rushed downstairs. However, as the fire spread to an office on the 13th floor, some of their employees panicked and went to the upper floors by staircase. Our firefighting team brought them down the building. For the firefighting operation, we also used an advanced vehicle procured from Finland that was assembled by a Pune-based company. This vehicle is well-equipped with cameras that can rotate 360 degrees, and using the mechanism, it can reach a height of 68 metres, thus enabling the firefighters to specifically monitor the situation at such a height.”
Padaji Nirgude, assistant fire officer of Vashi fire brigade, said, “Due to the fire breakout, the employees of the offices in the commercial building panicked, and they used the emergency exit and rushed downstairs. Some employees in the offices on the 10th floor were also unable to escape due to the fire smoke. But the firefighters reached the floor and brought them down to safety.”
Fire officer Kokate said, “Prima facie, the cause of the fire is suspected to be a short circuit in the air conditioner in the office on the 12th floor. It took around three hours to extinguish the fire. However, the entire furniture of the offices on the 12th and 13th floors was completely charred in the fire.”