20200208 Navi Mumbai: 7 firemen suffer burn injuries in blasts after Seawoods tower blaze
India Feb 09 2020 “Apartment houses” “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Navi Mumbai: 7 firemen suffer burn injuries in blasts after Seawoods tower blaze
Updated: 2020–02–09
NAVI MUMBAI: Seven firemen, including two fire officers, sustained burn injuries during fire-fighting operations at a Nerul highrise after a major fire broke out in a duplex flat on the 20th and 21st floors, around 6.30am on Saturday. The incident occurred at Sea Homes Tower in Sector 44 of Seawoods in Nerul.
The injured include assistant sub-fire officers G B Gade and V D Koli, leading fireman J D Joshi and firemen T J Thakare, M T Pawar, D M Jawale and J B Bhoye. They were injured after an LPG cylinder and air-conditioner compressor exploded in the 20th floor apartment, where the fire started in the electrical panel due to a short-circuit, Nerul fire officer Arun Bhoir said.
The duplex owner, Chandrakant Bhansali (63), a builder, who is also the society’s chairman, and his five family members, including minors, quickly left the apartment. As the Bhansalis alerted others in the society, by ringing the fire alarm bell, residents too rushed downstairs. The blasts came after the duplex got engulfed in flames around 7.30am.
Dr Sunil Keswani of National Burns Centre, Airoli, said, “All seven have sustained less than 20% burn injuries, which are patchy burns. Hence, there is nothing to worry as their vital signs are normal. But the depth of burns cannot be known on day one of treatment. Three of them are in the ICU, and the others are in the male ward.”
Bhoir said, “Twenty fire engines, water browsers and mini-tenders from Vashi, Kopar Khairane, Nerul, CBD and Airoli, apart from the 68-foot Bronto Skylift from Vashi were pressed into service. As the fire hydrant system of the tower was not operational, we had to take water from the underground tank of a building on the opposite side. Water was filled in the fire engine, which was connected to the Bronto Skylift for fire-fighting operations. It took around eight hours to extinguish the fire in the five-room duplex.”
Duplex owner Chandrakant Bhansali said, “I was in the kitchen with my wife when suddenly there was a power failure. Due to the smoke, water sprinklers in the flat got activated. Our family members ran out of the apartment and went downstairs.”
Web Source: The times of India