Nalasopara: Tuesday night turned into a life-and-death struggle for the Jaiswal family living on the 13th floor of the Imperial Heritage building in Achole, Nalasopara East. After a fire broke out on their floor and flames and thick smoke blocked their exit, the family of four used sarees and clothes to make a makeshift rope and climbed down to a ledge on the ninth floor. They waited there for nearly 20 minutes before fire brigade personnel rescued them using a crane.The fire originated on the 13th floor, leaving the family with no safe route to escape through the main door. With the flames spreading and smoke filling their flat, the husband, wife and their two children decided to climb out through a window and make their way to a lower floor.Using sarees and other pieces of clothing tied together, they fashioned a makeshift rope and carefully climbed down from the 13th floor to a ledge on the ninth floor. However, they could not descend further as the fire had spread to the area below.The four were left stranded on a ledge barely eight inches wide, raising fears that any slip could send them plunging several floors down. Residents gathered below and prepared to catch them in case they fell, as the family waited anxiously for help to arrive.For nearly 20 minutes, the family remained perched precariously on the narrow ledge, caught between the threat of the flames behind them and the danger of falling.Fire brigade personnel eventually reached them using a crane and brought all four to safety.Recalling the terrifying experience, Vishal Jaiswal said the incident was the most difficult ordeal of his life and that he was yet to recover from the shock.
