Fire is suspected to have been caused by excessive use of AC
Charring and soot around the AC unit in a flat on the first floor in the Broke Land Building, Andheri West
A massive fire broke out in the wee hours of Saturday at Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane in Lokhandwala, Andheri West, leaving one person dead and six other injured, including a two-week-old infant.
“The fire broke out around 2.30 am and we got the call around 2.40 am. Our quick response team reached there before 3 am and doused the fire, along with evacuating the residents. We suspect the cause of the fire to be a power circuit blast due to excessive use of the air conditioner in flat number 104 on the first floor. The victims were immediately transported and admitted to Kokilaben Hospital and Cooper Hospital,” said Digambar Jagtap, a fire marshal.
While none of the residents suffered burns, five were rushed to hospital for smoke inhalation. At Kokilaben Hospital, Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, was declared dead before admission. “She died of excessive smoke inhalation. There were no major burn marks. She just had some small marks on her hand and was breathing heavily when brought to the hospital. However, before we could start treating her, she breathed her last,” said a doctor from the hospital.
Survivor Aparna Gupta, 41, told mid-day, “I am lucky to still be breathing. I was asleep in the bedroom with our son while my husband was working in the living room when we heard yells of ‘Aag lag gayi hai’. As soon as we opened the window to look out, thick smoke entered the room and everything went dark.”
“We tried to go downstairs, but the smoke was so thick we couldn’t breathe. My husband fell unconscious. Thankfully the fire brigade had arrived and took us to the hospital. We would have definitely died had they not come in time,” said Gupta.
She also mentioned that her husband was first taken to Kokilaben Hospital, then moved to the Trauma Hospital in Jogeshwari, then taken to Cooper and finally back to Kokilaben, where he is currently under treatment. When asked about why such transfers were done, the hospital staff refused to comment.
All three from the Gupta family are currently in the ICU. While Gupta’s Vihan, 3, is stable, her husband Paulam is in need of nebuliser.
The youngest survivor, 14-day-old Prayum Kapadia, is already home after a full check-up. “Once we checked him thoroughly, and confirmed there was no major health damage, his mother immediately asked for his discharge,” said Dr Tasha Vasaya, junior PICU consultant .
One patient in critical condition, Kartik Sanjanvalia, 37, asked for a transfer to Nanavati Hospital from Cooper despite being advised not to move.
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