Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske has sought a pay hike for the firefighters and the disaster response team from Thane who rescued 50 residents during a fire at a residential tower in the city on Diwali.
Earlier on November 8, a fire broke out at the Carlyle building in the Raheja Gardens complex in the Wagle Estate area and spread from the 7th to 14th floors, triggering a major emergency response.
Naresh Mhaske while drafting a letter to the Thane Municipal Corporation, said that personnel from the civic body’s fire brigade and the Thane Disaster Response Force evacuated nearly 50 persons and guided trapped residents to safety via the building’s terrace and designated refuge areas.
Mhaske also added that the rescue teams also evacuated several pet dogs and cats trapped alongside their owners.
The Thane MP, in his letter, cited, “The contribution of these jawans, who risk their lives to protect citizens during disasters, is invaluable. Giving them a salary hike in recognition of their extraordinary performance will not only honour their relentless work but also greatly boost the morale and enthusiasm of disaster management personnel in the future,” as per PTI.
Resident recount their terrifying escape
Residents of Carlyle building in Thane’s Wagle Estate, told Mid-Day that they were fortunate to have escaped with their lives after a ferocious blaze broke out in the 17-storey structure in Raheja Gardens, a residential enclave housing over 350 flats, on Sunday night.
The fire, which originated in the electrical duct of the building, rapidly surged between the 7th and 14th floors, filling corridors with blinding, toxic smoke and trapping between 40 and 50 residents inside their five-BHK apartments.
A rescue operation by the Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC), Thane Fire Brigade, and specialised units from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stretched into Monday before the blaze was doused at 2.30 am.
While human casualties were averted, the building suffered massive internal destruction. The common electric duct and corridors were gutted, while the doors, electrical wiring, and interiors of multiple apartments were charred.
BiPAP miracle
Among those rescued was a fragile senior citizen hooked up to a BiPAP oxygen support machine. As smoke began infiltrating his apartment, panic set in. Firefighters and emergency responders acted swiftly, navigating the smoke-filled stairwells to carry him to safety, where paramedics administered on-site first aid.
For others, the brush with death came inside descending elevators. “We were stuck in the lift. The power got cut, and smoke started seeping in. We were lucky to be rescued in the nick of time,” a young resident of Carlyle building said on the condition of anonymity.
(With inputs from PTI)
