Overview
- A blaze erupted in a ground-floor paint storage unit at Firdous Apartment in Vetal Nagar, Kondhwa, and three Pune Fire Brigade tenders were rushed to the scene.
- Rescuers pulled a worker from the smoke-filled unit and he was taken to hospital where doctors later declared him dead; officials identified him as Mohammad Irfan Yusuf.
- Officials say welding work was under way inside the unit and they suspect sparks ignited the stored paint materials, though investigators have not yet confirmed the exact cause.
- Firefighters brought the fire under control before it spread to the occupied upper floors, an action officials said prevented a wider tragedy for families living in the building.
- Police and fire department investigators have opened a probe to check whether storing flammable paint in the residential building violated safety norms and to assess whether enforcement changes are needed.