Mumbai: A flash in an air-conditioning unit at Mahavitaran’s Prakashgad headquarters in Bandra East sent smoke through the building on Friday afternoon, triggering a fire alarm and the evacuation of employees. Three people suffered suffocation and were taken to hospital, while firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control.
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Employees switched off the power supply to the central AC system and released fire-suppressing gas as a precaution, preventing the incident from spreading, the utility said.
The smoke activated the building’s fire alarm system, following which announcements were made asking officers and employees to evacuate the premises.
Five fire engines rushed to the spot and inspected all floors. Firefighters later declared the building safe after confirming that the fire had been extinguished and remained confined to the AHU.
Mahavitaran said no documents or property belonging to its offices or those of Mahanirmiti, also housed in the building, were damaged.
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The incident was reported around 1.23pm at the ground-plus-six-storey Prakashgad building on Anant Kanekar Marg near Bandra Court, according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). The fire was confined to an air handling unit (AHU) on the sixth floor and was extinguished by 1:32pm, officials said.
Initially, no injuries were reported. However, hospital officials later confirmed that three people had suffered suffocation. Eknath Vasant Gavas, 45, was treated and discharged from V N Desai Hospital. Satish Shingote, 26, and Pramod More, 45, were admitted and were in stable condition.
Mahavitaran said the flash occurred around 1pm in the control room of the building’s central air-conditioning system. Smoke subsequently spread through the AC ducts.
