Within just 12 hours on Tuesday, October 21, two devastating fires claimed six lives and injured ten others — turning the Diwali week into tragedy and exposing once again how unprepared the city’s high-rises remain. But amid the chaos and smoke, a 24-year-old man emerged as the night’s unlikely hero.
The Vashi inferno
Around 1 am, a fire broke out on the 10th floor of Raheja Residency, MG Complex, Vashi. Within minutes, it engulfed the 11th and 12th floors, trapping several residents in thick smoke. Six flats were gutted before the fire was finally contained at 4.30 am.
Raheja Residency, Vashi, where four people died in a midnight fire. Pics/By Special Arrangement
Four people — 6-year-old Vedika Sundar Balakrishnan, 84-year-old Kamala Hiralal Jain, Sundar Balakrishnan, 44, and Puja Rajan, 39, — lost their lives. Ten others are being treated at Fortis and MGM hospitals for burns and smoke inhalation. Amid the panic, 24-year-old Bhavin Punmiya risked his life to save others. With the help of two policemen, he broke open doors and led six residents to safety through the choking smoke.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Adinath Budhvant, who is probing the Vashi fire incident; NMMC Commissioner Kailash Shinde, who visited the Vashi fire site
Bhavin told mid-day, “We were downstairs bursting firecrackers when a friend shouted there was a fire. We called the fire brigade, but they couldn’t find the building, so I went to guide them. The fire was on the 10th floor, but smoke had filled the 11th and 12th floors. My father’s friend was trapped on the 12th floor, and we found resident Krish Jain on a ninth-floor ledge — we told him to stay put until we could rescue him and the Ghosh family. I tried calling and knocking on the Balakrishnan family’s door, but they didn’t respond and ran to the toilet. If they had answered, they might have survived.” His father Bharat Punmiya said Bhavin injured his hand, but didn’t stop.
Kiran Jain, a 12th-floor resident of Raheja Residency who narrowly escaped the blaze; Resident Mahesh More, who witnessed the Kamothe cylinder blast
Residents recalled how one family on the 12th floor could not escape. “We knocked on their door, but they didn’t respond. Later, we learned they died of suffocation,” said Kiran Jain, a survivor. Vashi Fire Officer Purushottam Jadhav said, “We deployed 9-10 fire engines from across Navi Mumbai. An electrical fault is suspected.” NMMC Commissioner Kailash Shinde said safety measures across all residential complexes will be reviewed.
Kamothe blast follows
Barely hours after the Vashi blaze, tragedy struck Kamothe’s Ambe Shraddha Society around 11.30 am. A suspected short circuit triggered a cylinder blast on the third floor, killing Rekha Sisodia, 42, and her daughter Payal, 20. “There was an explosion, and the flat was engulfed in flames within seconds,” said resident Mahesh More. CIDCO Deputy Fire Officer Praveen Bhodke said, “The fire was contained quickly, but the two victims couldn’t be saved.”
Recurring firetrap
The twin fires come just days after a similar high-rise incident in Kharghar. “Nearly 90 per cent of Navi Mumbai’s high-rises have open ducts that allow flames and smoke to spread vertically. These are ticking time bombs,” warned Bhodke. Experts say that despite obtaining fire NOCs, housing societies neglect regular maintenance, mock drills, and fire equipment upkeep.
