Fire at Andheri highrise in Mumbai claims lift operator’s life | Mumbai News

A fire broke out at Runwal Elegante in Lokhandwala, Andheri West, on Saturday night

Mumbai: A 46-year-old lift operator, Dhanpat Mahatu, died of suffocation caused by smoke inhalation after a fire erupted in a 17th-floor flat of Runwal Elegante, a highrise residential complex in Andheri Lokhandwala, on Saturday around 9.45pm.The fire, which was confined to the electric installations and household articles in C wing’s flat no. 1701, was doused within an hour. Mahatu was rescued from the lobby and rushed to Cooper Hospital, where he was declared “brought dead” at 3.54am.Residents said Mahatu, who worked in the building for nearly a decade, helped people who had taken another lift despite being aware that smoke was spreading fast on the premises. “Society members are making arrangements to send his body to his village,” said Gaurav Maini, a resident.Runwal Elegante has 27 habitable floors, apart from around six floors comprising parking and podium levels, and comprises three wings.Even as the exact cause of the blaze is being investigated, preliminary information suggested that it may have originated in the flat’s puja room. Andheri fire station officer Ravi Pawade said the family members had stepped out after performing puja, leaving an elderly woman and the domestic help behind.“The senior citizen, who has limited mobility, was safely brought downstairs by the maid before our teams arrived. The building’s fire-fighting system was operational and aided our firefighting operations,” he added.The entire C wing was evacuated as a precaution, leaving residents to make alternative arrangements for the night. “C wing is centrally located and the affected flat faces the road. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to any of the adjoining flats considering each floor of the building has four flats,” a resident said.Maini alleged there was a delay in the fire brigade reaching the building and that the ladder brought by the personnel could not reach the 17th floor. He also alleged that residents who called the fire brigade were asked which police station had jurisdiction over the building — information they did not have at the time. “Our immediate concern was to ensure that firefighters reached the building as quickly as possible, not to answer additional questions,” he said.Local BJP corporator Rupesh Sawarkar said: “The senior citizen was being brought downstairs when I reached the spot, but the fire brigade was yet to arrive. There is a BMC parking lot adjoining the building. Ideally, a fire tender should be stationed there, especially since the locality does not have a fire station. I have been demanding one, given the rapid growth in the area’s population.”.Dhaval Shah, a Lokhandwala resident, echoed: “With massive redevelopment projects going on, the Andheri-Versova assembly population is all set to triple or quadruple to a million residents plus in coming years with big skyscrapers. We need a dedicated fire station for this area with a hydraulic aerial ladder to cater to highrise fires effectively and save property and lives from getting badly impacted.”