A fire broke out in the wee hours of Tuesday at Mumbai’s Fortune Enclave building in Bandra (W), which houses singer Shaan. While the blaze erupted on the seventh floor, the musician and his family were asleep in their home on the 11th floor.

Talking about the ordeal and how he managed to evacuate safely with his family, Shaan tells us, “The fire broke out around 12.30 am. We were asleep and were woken up around 1 am. Most of the people who stayed on the seventh floor and below had already been evacuated. We were told to go to the terrace, but since it was locked and the smoke was mounting, we took refuge at our neighbour, Mrs Kazi’s home, on the 14th floor. Unfortunately, they were stuck, too. We were there for about 40 minutes until the firemen came and escorted us down.”

After being alerted, four fire engines and other fire-fighting vehicles rushed to the spot. The fire could be doused only after trying for nearly two-and-a-half hours, an official said. “The seventh floor is completely gutted. The sixth and eighth floors are partially burnt, but there isn’t much damage to the building. Our home is fine,” shares Shaan.

His wife, entrepreneur Radhika Mukherji adds, “Our younger son, Maahi, was out and it was Soham (elder son) who woke us up. The three of us had to be rescued besides our two househelps and two fur babies. Panic is inevitable in such situations, but we tried to stay as informed and prepared as possible. The first thing we did as a family was switch off all the mains and cover our faces with wet cloths to minimize smoke inhalation. We made three attempts to get to higher floors. Initially, we managed to reach the 15th floor, but the smoke was too overwhelming to go further.”