A fire broke out in a 22nd-floor flat in Balewadi, Pune, on Saturday evening, destroying furniture and electronic goods but causing no casualties, according to the Times of India report. Firefighters reached the building with three fire tenders after residents noticed flames coming from the flat’s windows.
Station fire officer Shivaji Memane said the fire began at around 4.30 pm. The emergency call was received at 4.35 pm after residents of the building spotted the flames. The response brought a fire team and three tenders to the high-rise residential building.
Firefighters had to break open the flat’s door to enter. By the time the team reached the interior, the furniture and electronic goods inside had been severely damaged and had become charcoal, Memane said. The account indicates that the fire was concentrated inside the apartment before the emergency team entered.
The family living in the flat had gone out when the fire started, according to the report. Their absence meant that no residents were inside the apartment when flames were noticed. The report did not mention injuries among other residents or any damage to neighbouring flats or common areas of the building.
The incident places the focus on the challenges of responding to a fire on an upper floor of a residential tower, where access to the affected apartment depends on the building being identified quickly and emergency teams reaching the correct unit. In this case, residents alerted the fire service after seeing flames from the windows, and the responding team entered the locked flat by forcing open the door.
The cause of the fire has not been established. Memane said the fire department was investigating why the fire broke out. The available account does not identify whether the source was electrical equipment, an appliance, or another item inside the home. Further details will depend on the outcome of the investigation.
The incident was reported without casualties, but the contents of the 22nd-floor home were destroyed. The next official step is the fire department’s investigation into the cause of the blaze.
