Fire in Mumbai's Beaumonde Towers: Blaze doused after five hours; 90 residents evacuated, no casualties reported

A major blaze that broke out at Beaumonde Towers in Mumbai’s Prabhadevi on Wednesday afternoon has been doused after five hours, officials from the fire department said. [caption id=“attachment_4509261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The blaze at Beaumonde Towers. Image courtesy: Nevin Thomas[/caption] More than 90 residents were evacuated and no injuries have been reported. The blaze reportedly broke out on the 33rd floor of the B-wing of the building. The fire, which broke out around 2.15 pm was initially categorised as a level-II blaze but was soon reclassified to a level-III. At least ten fire engines, two quick response vans, five water tankers, two hydraulic platforms and an ambulance rushed to the spot. The Mumbai Police, responding to alert citizens on social media, tweeted:

Our staff & Fire Brigade is on the spot for assistance. They are trying their best to douse the fire and provide necessary help to people there.

— मुंबई पोलीस - Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 13, 2018

Initially, B-wing residents did not realise there was a fire. They were alerted by the panicked cries of the residents of C-wing.  All residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure. The building’s security personnel helped the residents evacuate while the fire department was called. The guards knocked on every door during the evacuation and led the residents down by the stairwell. The fire, which was initially confined to the 32nd and 33rd floor, later spread to the left of the tower. The hydraulic systems used to douse the fire, even with the help of ladders and extensions, could reportedly only reach the 28th floor. Firefighters struggled to control the blaze as flames could be seen in the top-left corner at the back of the building. Dilip Yadav, a municipality volunteer, claimed this was the third time the building caught fire. Two fires broke out in the building during its construction, he alleged.

Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale told Firstpost the department doesn’t have the estimate of how tall the building is. He said the keys of both the floors have just reached the firefighters, after which they will try and access the two floors.

A fire officer, speaking to Firstpost on the condition of anonymity, said the glass and aluminium facade drastically reduced the ventilation, which made it difficult to douse the fire. He said the fire officers at the top were also faced difficulty in resting the ladders too close to the building because the facade jutted out. Ward chairman Kishori Pednekar, speaking to Firstpost, blamed building security for the continuing blaze. She said unskilled staff initially went for rescue operations, and the team tried to douse the fire for 25 minutes before calling the fire department. Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar claimed the fire department could only douse fires until the 18th floor. He blamed the department for giving a no-objection certificate for a 33-storey building even when it was not equipped to tackle the height in case of a fire. However, Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said the Shiv Sena MLA is lying and spreading rumours. He said the fire department’s ladder can easily reach the 30th floor. The building houses the residence and office of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone. The actress, who is out of town, took to social media to address her concerned fans:

Her PR team, speaking to Firstpost, said, “Deepika lives on the 26th floor of Beaumonde. While the fire took place in the same wing as hers, it was on the 32nd floor. Deepika is currently out for a brand shoot. Some of her staff members are at home.” None of her flats were affected by the fire, according to sources close to the actress. Police officials said an inquiry would be launched. A Mumbai Police official told Firstpost the cause of the fire would be determined over the next couple of days. With inputs from PTI and FP contributors