20190726 Ahmedabad: After fire, 44 families homeless
India Jul 26 2019 “Apartment houses” “Building” “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Ahmedabad: After fire, 44 families homeless
Updated: 2019–07–28
AHMEDABAD: Her shift ended on Friday morning. Payal (name changed), a flight attendant, had returned home on the 11th floor of E block of Ganesh Genesis and had slept late into the morning. “I woke up with a start, hearing screams and commotion,” she said. “When I opened the door, my apartment was engulfed by smoke. The subsequent sequence is etched in my mind and I don’t want to remember it any more. So I am moving to some other apartment.”
In all, 44 families were rendered homeless at Ganesh Genesis, a residential scheme on the Jagatpur Road near Gota, after a fire gutted homes on at least four floors. Electricity and water connections have not been restored in the block, forcing people to move out. As the scheme is still under the builder’s maintenance, the exterior will be restored by the company whereas individual flat owners will have to repair their flats, said residents.
Mahendra Patel, the builder of the scheme, said that his company has opened a few unoccupied flats for families who could not move anywhere else. “The majority moved into their relatives’ homes either on Friday or Saturday,” he said. “We have already started cleaning the debris from the flats after police gave us permission.” A team was deployed at the apartment complex by the city police to prevent any untoward incident.
Chandkheda police officials said that they recorded the statements of 11 persons from E block on Saturday to ascertain how the fire began and spread. They also recorded the statements of Neha and Shanti Mishra, the wife and the mother of Rajendra Mishra, whose apartment on the fifth floor is suspected to be the origin of the fire.
“They are being treated for multiple injuries. Both were rescued from the back of the apartment,” said an investigator. “They mentioned that smoke had come to their residence from outside the apartment. It is believed that an outdoor unit of an electric equipment caused the fire. We are awaiting the forensic report and the opinion of the electricity company.”
The family of Anjana Patel, 50, mourned her death on Friday. Her twin children — Dhruv and Dhruti — are still hospitalized. Her relatives on Saturday said that Dhruti was the first to spot the smoke and had gone to check outside. “She went down, alerting all other residents she could meet,” said a relative. “But Anjana and Dhruv were not that lucky. Heavy smoke blocked their path. Dhruv went upstairs and when he could not find any way out, he went out of a balcony and took shelter on a ledge. He was rescued later but he has sustained burn injuries.”
Mithun Mistry, the deputy chief fire officer of Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES), and a fireman had tried to save Anjana Patel.
Web Source: The times of India