The flat (circled in red) that caught fire. (Amit Datta)

An 85-year-old woman on a wheelchair was trapped in a smoke-filled apartment near Maidan Metro station for 15 minutes on Monday evening before firemen broke through a glass door to rescue her in a semi-conscious state.

Shyamali Pal was alone in the fourth-floor flat at Middleton Mansion that she shares with her grandson when a flat adjacent to theirs caught fire. A fire engine with a 50ft ladder was the first to reach the spot but could not get past the winding driveway. Firemen wearing oxygen masks climbed the stairs to reach Shyamali and evacuate her to a waiting ambulance.

“Thick, black smoke had engulfed the flat. We had our breathing apparatus and so were able to enter the flat. We found the lady in a wheelchair behind a glass door,” said a fireman who cut his hand while hammering the glass.

Shyamali’s grandson was not at home when the incident occurred. The family’s two domestic workers told police they couldn’t reach her because of the smoke.

Five fire-tenders took two hours to douse the flames in the adjacent flat.

Sanjay Talukdar, the elderly owner of flat number 14, said he was about to set off for the airport to see off friend Lloyd Alexander when an explosion in his air-conditioner triggered the fire. “All of us were able to get out safely but my apartment was gutted and Lloyd missed his flight,” he told Metro.