20131124 India Student killed, 3 injured in parking lot fire
India Nov 23 2013 “Other”
Dead : --- Burnout : --- Injured : ---
Student killed, 3 injured in parking lot fire
Updated: 2013-11-24-06:55
PUNE: A 25-year-old college student died and three others, including a newly-married couple, were injured in a major fire that broke out in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Navi Peth in the wee hours of Saturday. The injured couple is said to be in a critical condition.
The deceased has been identified as Balaji Madanmohan Jaju (25), a student who hailed from Karnataka. Gaurav Mahaveer Atunikar (28), an architect, and his wife Shalmali (25), sustained 50% burns and are undergoing treatment at Surya hospital. Another resident, Atul N Agarwal (25), also a student, suffered some injuries and is undergoing treatment at the Sassoon hospital.
The fire broke out in the parking lot of Anudatta Apartment near Vitthal Mandir around 3.30am. Preliminary investigations have revealed that a short circuit in the meter box in the parking area sparked the blaze, which intensified after petrol tanks of two-wheelers started exploding. Soon, residents of the neighbouring buildings alerted the fire brigade which reached immediately. The flames had by then leapt up to the third floor of the sevenstorey building even as some residents had woken up to the sound of explosions and started scurrying for safety.
Some residents tried to escape through the parking lot, which was on fire. Atunikar and his wife, who lived on the second floor, were the first among them, but they fell on the staircase leading to the parking lot and were engulfed in flames, which intensified after twowheeler petrol tanks exploded. The couple sustained severe injuries on their faces and bodies. College student died of suffocation, say police.
Jaju, who stayed on the fourth floor of the seven-storey building, climb down to the parking lot in a bid to escape, but lost consciousness after a couple battling flames. He did not sustain any burns and police officials said he died of suffocation.
The other student, Atul Agarwal, had also passed out on the staircase, but survived. Residents said all four were rescued by the fire brigade officials, but Jaju had died by then.
Most other residents had rushed to the terrace. “As soon as we realized that the parking lot had caught fire, we removed cooking gas cylinders and took them to the terrace. Our apartment has a mobile tower and we feared something major was going to happen. The fire brigade reached on time, which averted a major disaster,” said Sanjay Rawade, a resident of the society.
The fire brigade rescued about 25 people who were stuck on different floors. The building has two entrances, with the main one facing Ganjve chowk. Seventeen families stay in the building.
The blaze woke up the entire locality. “We heard an explosion and came out to see what had happened. The entire parking lot of the apartment was engulfed in fire. We realized that the petrol tanks of the two-wheelers kept in the parking lot had burst. The fire spread within minutes and there was complete chaos. We immediately informed the fire brigade,” said Vidya Patil, who lives in Sai Samartha Apartment, located opposite Anudatta Apartment.
While there was no serious damage to the building, the parking lot and 25 two-wheelers and two bicycles were completely gutted.
Police said five fire engines with 34 personnel and one water tanker reached the spot to douse the flames. The fire was finally brought under control around 4 am. Two ambulances were used to take the injured to the hospital.
Websource：The Times of India
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-24/pune/44412054_1_fire-brigade-parking-lot-petrol-tanks