A 56-year-old security guard died of suffocation after getting trapped in a lift during a fire at a 17th-floor flat in Mumbai’s Andheri West on Saturday night, with a diya lit in the apartment’s temple shrine suspected to have triggered the blaze, police said.
Police identified the deceased as Dhanpat Mahatu. He was found unconscious inside the lift and was declared brought dead at Cooper Hospital. It was initially confined to electrical wiring, installations and household articles inside the apartment.
The fire was reported at around 9.50 pm on Saturday from flat number 1701 of the high-rise, according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB). Fire brigade personnel, along with the police, a 108 ambulance and ward staff, went to the building. The fire was brought under control at 10.37 pm, according to the fire brigade. He said the fire had broken out between 9.15 pm and 9.30 pm and was doused by around 11.45 pm, while cooling operations continued past midnight.
Dhaval Shah of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens’ Association (LOCA), who lives in the area, said the incident occurred in the C wing of the building.
“Citizens should not place diyas near curtains or other combustible materials. They should be covered. The family members had gone out for dinner when the fire broke out. “The fire could have been doused with water. In the event of a fire, people should either use the staircase or the designated evacuation lift.
Chief fire officer Ravindra Ambulgekar said a preliminary assessment suggested that a diya in the house’s temple shrine may have caused the fire. The elderly parents were rescued by the domestic help, who brought them to safety in time,” he said. The evacuation system was functional,” he said.
