Ashrith Aspire residents recount fire with horror, helplessness

A Bescom staffer disconnects the electrical supply to the Ashrith Aspire apartment complex in Begur, South Bengaluru, on Wednesday. Credit: DH Photo/Akhil Kadidal

Confusion, intermingled with horror — This was how residents of the Ashrith Aspire apartment complex in South Bengaluru, described their emotions after a fire gutted a flat, claiming two lives.

Naveen, a techie who had recently moved into the apartment complex, said he initially had no idea that anything was amiss until he received a message on the apartment WhatsApp group stating that a fire had broken out in flat number 210.

“I live in the flat-205. People said later that there had been a cylinder blast but I never heard a blast. The WhatsApp message called for all women and children to evacuate to the parking lot, followed by the men,” he said.

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Sunanda, another IT professional who lives in unit 110, directly below the afflicted apartment unit, confirmed that there was no sound of a blast. “My husband and I were working at home. We heard the sound of objects falling. We thought that the people above were moving their furniture. This went on for nearly 10 minutes. There was no heat emanating from the ceiling. Then, we were told that a fire had broken out and that we must evacuate. At that time, we saw licks of flame from the balcony above,” she said.

Naveen said he attempted to put out the flames with other residents. “But we could not approach the main door, so blazing were the flames. Someone said the fire department was on its way and we decided to get out. As we went down, there was the noise of explosions. They were windowpanes shattering because of the heat,” he said.

This noise was mistaken for the sound of an explosion by Anjamma (name changed), a senior citizen from Guntur, living in a migrant labour camp at the southside of the apartment complex, which unit 210 overlooks.

The presence of that grille that prevented Lakshmidevi and her daughter Bhagya Rekha, 59, from escaping is now a contentious issue. Nearly all balconies of lower and mid-level apartment units’ balconies at the complex have grilles, DH found.

“We have to do something about the balcony grilles,” admitted Ranjith Kumar, president of the apartment complex’s RWA. “They were installed individually by apartment owners for peace of mind. Some of the grilles have an escape door. That is something all grilles may have to have.”

Kumar said he was among residents who tried to reach Apartment 205, only to be beaten back by the flames. “We used fire extinguishers, but the front door was on fire, along with the sofa in the living room and then on. They had a lot of furniture in that small apartment. It may have caused the fire to spread faster,” he added.

Sunanda's apartment was not damaged by flames but water is now leaking down from the ceiling.

“There is a palpable feeling of sadness,” Kumar added. “It is an unsettling time. The only good thing is that some people are able to move back to their homes as officials have given clearance.”

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