A tragic fire incident in Mumbai's Goregaon East claimed the life of a 72-year-old woman on Sunday evening after she reportedly re-entered her burning apartment and succumbed to smoke inhalation.
The deceased has been identified as Indu Singh, a resident of Lakshachandi Heights, a 24-storey residential building located in the Gokuldham area on Krishna Vatika Marg. According to initial reports, the fire broke out around 7.30 pm in Singh's sixth-floor flat.
Authorities believe the blaze was triggered by a lamp inside the house. At the time of the incident, Singh and her house-help were present in the apartment. When the fire erupted, both managed to escape the room safely.
However, in a turn of events that proved fatal, Singh returned to the smoke-filled flat for reasons yet to be determined. Officials said she was unable to exit the apartment due to the dense smoke that quickly engulfed the space.
She reportedly collapsed near the door after inhaling toxic fumes. Residents and family members rushed to help and managed to bring her out of the flat.
She was immediately administered first aid and rushed to Lifeline Hospital. However, doctors declared her dead on arrival, citing severe smoke inhalation as the cause.
At the time of the incident, Singh's husband, Tarkeshwar Singh, was on an evening walk within the building premises.
He, along with other residents, rushed to the flat upon learning about the fire and helped rescue both Singh and the house-help. However, Singh's decision to go back inside the apartment turned fatal.
Speaking about the building's safety infrastructure, Tarkeshwar Singh noted that while Lakshachandi Heights has a functional firefighting system, it lacks internal sprinkler systems within individual flats. "The sprinklers are installed only in common areas, as the building was constructed before 2005," he said.
The incident has once again raised concerns about fire safety preparedness in older residential buildings across Mumbai, particularly regarding in-house fire suppression systems. Further investigation into the exact cause of the fire is underway.</