Vile Parle West Fire Kills Woman and Toddler After Hot Iron Ignites Clothes

A 23-year-old woman and a two-and-a-half-year-old boy were killed and six others were injured when a fire broke out on the 11th floor of Shanta Bhuvan on Baptista Road in Vile Parle West on Tuesday night. A senior fire official stated that a hot iron left on clothes for several minutes is suspected to have triggered the blaze.

The fire broke out around 9 pm inside the stilt-plus-11-storey residential building, located near St Xavier School. The blaze was reported from two adjoining flats, numbered 1101 and 1102, on the 11th floor.

Emergency services initially classified the incident as a Level-1 fire upon arrival. However, as the flames spread across the adjoining units, the response was upgraded to a Level-2 fire within minutes.

According to the senior fire official, the massive fire began after a hot iron was left unattended on clothes for a few minutes inside an 11th-floor flat. Screengrabs from video footage captured by Vile Parle residents showed heavy flames emerging from the high-rise structure during the incident.

A total of six people suffered injuries during the blaze and were receiving attention following the response by emergency personnel.