THANE: Ninety inmates of a hostel in Sonale in Thane district were brought out safely on Monday evening after a fire broke out in the facility's kitchen and gutted two rooms, an official said.
The blaze started at around 8:10pm and four fire-tending vehicles of Bhiwandi Nizampura and Kalyan Dombivali civic bodies were deployed to douse it in an hour, he said.
"The students in the four-storey hostel panicked and some were about to jump from the ledges. However fire brigade personnel managed to convince them to drop the idea. No one was injured in the incident," said chief fire officer Rajesh Pawar.
He said the hostel complex has some safety issues, including the kitchen being allowed to function from it.