Locals Rescue 50 Residents From Fire at Andheri United Cooperative Society

On Friday afternoon, a massive fire erupted in a seven-storey slum rehabilitation building at Building No. 1 of the Andheri United Cooperative Society in Andheri West, trapping dozens of residents in thick smoke. The blaze broke out at around 2:15 pm in the ground-floor meter room and quickly spread through the electrical wiring, causing widespread panic.

Around 50 residents, including children and senior citizens, were rescued by local residents who broke open window grilles to pull families to safety. The rescues began even before firefighters arrived at the scene.

Abdullah Shaikh, a 42-year-old local resident and one of the first responders, was offering Friday prayers when he heard people shouting about the fire. He rushed inside the building to help. Shaikh reported that there was almost no visibility inside the building due to the thick smoke, and many residents were struggling to breathe.

Among those rescued was 44-year-old Asif Shaikh, who was trapped on the third floor with eight members of his family. After trying to escape down the smoke-filled staircase, they were forced to retreat to their flat. Local rescuers broke their window grilles to pull all nine family members to safety.

Residents living on the fourth floor and above fled to the building's terrace to escape the rising smoke, while some on the lower floors managed to run out of the building as soon as the fire broke out.

According to residents, this is the fourth fire-related incident to occur in the building. Asif Shaikh stated that there had been electrical fluctuations before the fire broke out, and alleged that previous warnings regarding electrical issues had gone unaddressed.

Personnel from the Mumbai Fire Brigade, police, and the electricity distribution company participated in the rescue operations. No fatalities were reported, though several residents complained of breathing difficulties after inhaling smoke.