Mumbai: Seven Family Members, Including Three Minors, Perish in Level-I Fire Incident Early Sunday Morning
Mumbai, 7th October 2024: A tragic incident occurred early Sunday morning when a level-I fire engulfed a ground-plus-two-story building in Chembur’s Siddharth Colony, resulting in the deaths of seven family members, including three minors.
The victims have been named as Presi Prem Gupta (6), Manju Prem Gupta (30), Geetadevi Gupta (60), Prem Chediram Gupta (30), Vidhi Dharamdev Gupta (16), Narendra Dharamdev Gupta (10), and Anita Dharamdev Gupta (39).
Civic officials confirmed that all the deceased were part of the same family, who had lived in the area for approximately 40 years. While seven individuals lost their lives to the fire and smoke, two survivors remain the family patriarch, Chedilal Gupta, aged over 70, and his eldest son, Dharamdev Gupta, who alerted neighbours to the emergency.
The fire was reported at 5:20 am in plot no. 16/1 at Siddharth Colony along KN Gaikwad Marg in Chembur East. The ground floor, which housed a grocery store, was where the fire began, while the family occupied the upper levels.
Upon discovering the fire, nearby residents rushed to the scene, armed with buckets of water and tools to try to break through walls and the tin roof to save those trapped inside.
While the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, residents speculated that it may have been ignited by a lit lamp on the ground floor, with kerosene cans stored in the grocery store possibly fueling the flames.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) dispatched four fire engines and two jumbo tankers to combat the blaze. According to officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the fire primarily affected the electrical installations on the ground floor, along with household items.
Despite the firefighters’ efforts, the trapped individuals suffered severe burns and were pronounced dead upon arrival at the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital. The fire was fully extinguished by around 9:15 am, nearly four hours after it began.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the site and announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the victims’ families. He stated, “If the slum rehabilitation work in this area was stalled, a meeting will be convened to make appropriate decisions.” Accompanying him were Union Minister of Social Justice Ramdas Athawale, Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and former MP Rahul Shewale.
A senior MFB official indicated that an investigation would reveal the cause of the fire, noting that the building was informally constructed and lacked an internal firefighting system. BMC officials mentioned that the Slum Rehabilitation Authority had already notified the plot; however, attempts to reach Mahendra Kalyankar, CEO of SRA, went unanswered.
