A significant fire broke out in a residential high-rise building in Mumbai's Andheri West area on Thursday morning, triggering a major emergency response. The incident occurred at Sororento Tower on Veera Desai Road, sending heavy smoke billowing through several floors of the structure.
Timeline of the Emergency Response
The Mumbai Fire Brigade control room received the first alert about the blaze at approximately 10:05 am. Firefighting teams rushed to the location near the Country Club and managed to completely extinguish the fire by 11:37 am. Officials confirmed that despite the intense situation, no injuries were reported among the residents or rescue personnel.
The building in question is a stilt-plus-four-podium structure, with its residential sections occupying floors from the 5th to the 22nd. The fire originated and spread rapidly within the building's vertical electric shaft. Flames engulfed the wiring and electrical installations, climbing from the 10th floor all the way up to the 21st floor.
Challenging Rescue Operations Amidst Dense Smoke
A senior Mumbai Fire Brigade official described the challenging scene, stating that visibility was extremely poor due to the heavy smoke spreading through multiple floors via the shaft. The primary focus was to locate and evacuate residents who had moved to designated safe areas.
Approximately 30 to 40 residents had gathered in the refuge area on the 16th floor. They were all safely evacuated using the building's staircase. In a separate, more targeted operation, firefighters using breathing apparatus sets entered a specific apartment—flat number 1503 on the 15th floor—and successfully rescued two men and one woman.
The fire also led to a heartwarming animal rescue. A resident mentioned that a family living on the 12th floor was away on vacation. They panicked upon hearing the news and reached out to neighbors to save their cats. Fire personnel successfully rescued the pets before any civilian could attempt to enter the smoke-filled apartment.
Cause, Damage, and Coordinated Effort
While the exact cause is still under official investigation, preliminary information strongly points to an electrical short-circuit as the source of the fire. The blaze damaged routers, shoe racks, wooden furniture, and other combustible materials stored near the electrical ducts on various floors.
The response was a multi-agency effort. Alongside the fire brigade, police personnel, civic ward staff, Adani Electricity officials, and 108 ambulance services were deployed at the site as a precaution. Officials credited the coordinated action and timely response for confining the fire to the electrical installations and preventing it from escalating further, ultimately ensuring everyone's safety.
