Thane, Sep 27 (PTI)Two fire brigade staffers foiled a man’s attempt to end his life in Thane city of Maharashtra on Sunday, an official said. The incident took place around 8.30 pm in Panchpakhadi area, he said.

“The Thane fire brigade staffers were on their way to rescue a cat stuck on a tree when they spotted a crowd gathered on a road. When they stopped to enquire about the matter, people told them that a man was trying to hang himself from the ceiling fan on his second floor flat,” chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Santosh Kadam, said. “Deputy station officer Manoj Lone and one more fire brigade staffer immediately went upstairs. As the door of the flat was shut from inside, they broke it open. The man was about to hang himself when Lone entered the house,” he added.

The man was rescued and later handed over to Wagle Estate police for inquiry, Kadam said. As per the preliminary information, the 38-year-old man was alone at home as his family members were out of station, he said.

The residents the building lauded the firemen for saving the man’s life.