Ahmedabad: Locals turn knights in shining armour

PLUMBERS WHO PULLED OUT A SPIDEY STUNT

A family stuck in the 11th floor of the building was saved by plumbers who were working at the apartment. Uttam Panchal (37), an architect, his 65-year-old mother Narmada, a caretaker and three plumbers were trapped inside apartment E 1103-1104 as there was smoke everywhere. 

As smoke started entering the flat, the family got scared and moved towards the duct inside. 

The plumbers came up with a plan to get to the terrace by climbing up the duct. Taking support of pipes, the plumbers got to the terrace first and then, with the help of bedsheets, pulled the family members up, one by one. 

“It was our good fortune that the plumbers were working at our home, otherwise we would have died in this situation. After reaching the terrace, we stayed near the water pipes so that if the fire got close, we could break the water pipe to save ourselves,” said Panchal.

WHEN TRAFFIC COP WENT BEYOND CALL OF DUTY

A traffic cop rescued four people trapped inside the burning building. The cop, a Manish Barot, posted with the A division of traffic police, had gone to have tea nearby. When he noticed the building was on fire, he rushed to the spot. 

He reached there and found out that some people were trapped inside, and that help was still on the way. Barot went into the building and rescued four people stuck on the fifth and sixth floors. All four were brought safely down. The Ahmedabad Fire Emergency Services (AFES) team had reached the spot by then and took charge. When Barot emerged, the residents started cheering and praising Ahmedabad police. 

When DNA spoke to Barot, he said, “It was spontaneous; only thing on my mind was that people were trapped and needed help. Some residents followed me and helped during the rescue. Without their help, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

FINDING A MESSIAH IN A COMPLETE STRANGER

A  man who works as a driver at a construction site near Ganesh Genesis building risked his life to save a 65-year-old woman who was trapped inside her house after it caught fire on Friday. 

The man, Jitesh Shah, was on his way to drop his employer at the construction site, when he saw intense flames coming out from the fifth floor of a building. After dropping off his employer he returned to the spot to help victims. 

He came to know that a 65-year-old woman was trapped on the fourth floor of the building and was not able to get out of her house. Shah went inside, comforted her and convinced her to move to the balcony.   Then with the help of four others, he managed to get her down. 

When DNA spoke to Shah he said, “When I got inside the house, the woman was completely shaken and scared. She was not ready to even move. I somehow managed to comfort her and convince her to come with me to the balcony. Then with the help of others, we saved her.”

NO FIRE CAN BURN BONDS OF LOVE

It was a nightmare of a family who lived on the ninth floor of the building. With their 33-year-old son confined to a wheelchair following an accident, the family was unable to make a move out of their apartment.

In an accident seven months ago, Dharshan Munjani sustained multiple fractures on his left leg. Since then he on bed rest. 

When the fire broke out, his family members including his wife and parents were not ready to leave the house when the rescue operation team arrived. It was not possible to carry Dharshan nine stories down through stairs and his parents and wife were not ready to leave him alone. After a lot of persuasions, the rescue operation staff brought his parents downstairs, while Dharshan and his wife Vidhi stayed inside at a safe place with NDRF staff.

Vidhi stayed with her husband until the entire situation was under control. Later, after three hours, Dharshan and his wife were brought downstairs safely.