Fire breaks out in flat, teen dies

Mumbai: The 16-year-old daughter of a Mumbai police naik died after a fire broke out in the flat in which she was sleeping on Sunday. The family of the teenager, Shravani Chavan, had locked the door from outside before leaving to attend a wedding.

The blaze erupted around 1.45 pm on third floor of the fire-storey building number 5 at the staff quarters on the premises of the Dadar police station and four fire engines were rushed to the spot. Officials are looking into a potential suicide angle as the fire brigade found a container of kerosene in the home. it is suspected that the inflammable substance caused the rapid spread of  the fire.

The Dadar police said that Chavan was fast asleep inside her home and hence could not allegedly gauge the trouble in time. Officials said that her father is attached with the Vakola police station.

The fire is believed, prima facie, to have originated due a short circuit  in the air-conditioning system in the bedroom where she was asleep and spread to two other flats soon after.

The teenager was rushed to the Sion Hospital after the fire brigade arrived but she was declared dead on arrival owing to her grievous burn injuries.

Chavan’s parents, grandmother and brother had been out to attend a wedding when the incident occurred. “The girl was alone home when the incident happened and she suffered severe burns in the fire. She could not be pulled out in time by the fire fighters or the neighbours and she had sustained severe injuries. We are also investigating if the house was set on fire intentionally,” said an officer of the Dadar police station.

An accidental death report has been filed in connection with the incident and the investigation is underway.

The fire brigade is conducting a separate probe to determine the exact cause of the blaze.

Alert neighbours broke down door, but in vain

The neighbours of Shravani Chavan had broken down the front door of the flat in which the girl was trapped before the fire brigade reached the staff quarters at Dadar police station, but to no avail.

Neighbours console the mother of Shravani Chavan, the 16-year-old who died in the fire, at her residence at the Dadar police colony on Sunday. (Photo: SN)

Four fire engines and three jumbo water tankers were rushed to the spot and the fire brigade personnel managed to douse the flames after hectic efforts for about three hours, an official at Dadar police station said.

“We broke the glass windows to let air in and later tried to break open the front door, which was locked by her parents. However the door could not be opened. By the time fire fighters entered the flat, she had sustained severe injuries,” said Sangeeta Barate, a resident of the staff quarters.

“The blaze had spread all over the flat and damaged adjacent flats. The fire was confined to electrical wiring, electrical installations and all household articles. It was finally doused at 3.35 pm. Firemen brought out the girl and she had suffered burn injuries,” said P.S. Rahangdale, chief fire officer.

Ramesh Utekar, a resident of the Dadar police station quarters, said, “We realised that there was a fire as we could see smoke from the opposite building. Soon, we all rushed downstairs and saw that the smoke was coming from the rear of the building due to which we had failed to realise the intensity of the fire. As we learnt that the flat was closed, neighbours broke down the door by the time the fire brigade reached the spot. They then removed the girl outside who was badly injured.”

Earlier this year, fire brigade officials said that the city had recorded fewer fire outbreaks in the last three years, but the number of major blazes in the city has increased by around per cent.

Traffic congestion, ongoing infrastructure work and unauthorised parking hinder firefighting operations and result in the escalation of relatively minor fires, they had said.