Blazes turn festive night grim in Mumbai; 24-year-old man emerges as Diwali hero

Within just 12 hours on Tuesday October 21 two devastating fires claimed six lives and injured ten others mdash turning the Diwali week into tragedy and exposing once again how unprepared the cityrsquos highrises remainBut amid the chaos and smoke a 24yearold man emerged as the nightrsquos unlikely heroThe Vashi infernoAround 1 am a fire broke out on the 10th floor of Raheja Residency MG Complex Vashi Within minutes it engulfed the 11th and 12th floors trapping several residents in thick smoke Six flats were gutted before the fire was finally contained at 430 amRaheja Residency Vashi where four people died in a midnight fire PicsBy Special ArrangementFour people mdash 6yearold Vedika Sundar Balakrishnan 84yearold Kamala Hiralal Jain Sundar Balakrishnan 44 and Puja Rajan 39 mdash lost their lives Ten others are being treated at Fortis and MGM hospitals for burns and smoke inhalation Amid the panic 24yearold Bhavin Punmiya risked his life to save others With the help of two policemen he broke open doors and led six residents to safety through the choking smokeAssistant Commissioner of Police Adinath Budhvant who is probing the Vashi fire incident NMMC Commissioner Kailash Shinde who visited the Vashi fire siteBhavin told midday ldquoWe were downstairs bursting firecrackers when a friend shouted there was a fire We called the fire brigade but they couldnrsquot find the building so I went to guide them The fire was on the 10th floor but smoke had filled the 11th and 12th floors My fatherrsquos friend was trapped on the 12th floor and we found resident Krish Jain on a ninthfloor ledge mdash we told him to stay put until we could rescue him and the Ghosh family I tried calling and knocking on the Balakrishnan familyrsquos door but they didnrsquot respond and ran to the toilet If they had answered they might have survivedrdquo His father Bharat Punmiya said Bhavin injured his hand but didnrsquot stopKiran Jain a 12thfloor resident of Raheja Residency who narrowly escaped the blaze Resident Mahesh More who witnessed the Kamothe cylinder blastResidents recalled how one family on the 12th floor could not escape ldquoWe knocked on their door but they didnrsquot respond Later we learned they died of suffocationrdquo said Kiran Jain a survivor Vashi Fire Officer Purushottam Jadhav said ldquoWe deployed 910 fire engines from across Navi Mumbai An electrical fault is suspectedrdquo NMMC Commissioner Kailash Shinde said safety measures across all residential complexes will be reviewedKamothe blast followsBarely hours after the Vashi blaze tragedy struck Kamothersquos Ambe Shraddha Society around 1130 am A suspected short circuit triggered a cylinder blast on the third floor killing Rekha Sisodia 42 and her daughter Payal 20 ldquoThere was an explosion and the flat was engulfed in flames within secondsrdquo said resident Mahesh More CIDCO Deputy Fire Officer Praveen Bhodke said ldquoThe fire was contained quickly but the two victims couldnrsquot be savedrdquoRecurring firetrapThe twin fires come just days after a similar highrise incident in Kharghar ldquoNearly 90 per cent of Navi Mumbairsquos highrises have open ducts that allow flames and smoke to spread vertically These are ticking time bombsrdquo warned Bhodke Experts say that despite obtaining fire NOCs housing societies neglect regular maintenance mock drills and fire equipment upkeep