Pregnant woman among 5 rescued from hostel blaze

CHENNAI: Five occupants of a private working women’s hostel in Choolaimedu, including one who was 50-days pregnant, were rescued on Monday morning after a fire ravaged the two-storey building. The blaze is believed to have been triggered by a short circuit in a junction box.

The owner of the hostel suffered burns and a fire officer struggled to breathe while trying to rescue the women who had locked themselves up in a bathroom. A 45-year-old resident of an adjacent building also had breathing problems due to inhaling smoke.

Around 9am, after the fire and rescue services control room received a call, two tenders from Kilapuk rushed to the spot in Thiruvalluvarpuram, but found it difficult to enter the narrrow street. Rescue personnel ran to the building with the fire-fighting equipment and found the blaze had spread to the second floor where the five women were. “We heard the women’s cries, pulled them out through the broken door,” said Virugambakkam Station Fire Officer M U Aariffaa who had to be administered first aid after working the smoke-filled room for a long time. The team put out the fire after a 30 minute battle.

Earlier, the five women on the second floor had very little time to react as the blaze quickly spread from the first floor. Cots, chairs and mattresses burst into flames quickly and they ran to the bathroom, locked themselves in and began screaming for help.

Mahesh, the owner, heard their cries and ran to their room. He managed to broke open the door, but could not reach them as the flames were intense and he suffered minor burns. By then, the firefighters arrived. They rushed Mahesh to the Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital from where was soon discharged after treatment. The resident of an adjacent house who alsom struggled to breathe after inhaling the noxious fumes is now out of danger, police said.

Fire department officials said most of the 15 women in the hostel had left for their hometowns for Pongal.

A few residents of the area said they did not know what to do to help. “Smoke had engulfed the entire building and it was completely dark. We were mute spectators,” said Saravanan, a resident who, along with a few others, tried to sprinkle water and put out the fire. The Choolaimedu police registered a case.