Ghee and oil stored in the shed right next to the warehouse worsened the fire; however, no injuries reported
A major fire erupted in a warehouse in Kala Chowki’s Eastern Metal Company compound on Tuesday.
The fire in the godown, which housed electric items and computers, escalated rapidly due to excessive storage of ghee and oil in the shed next to it.
The fire gutted four to five, each measuring around 1,000 sqft. The sheds had items such as copper wires, ghee, paper rolls, ink, paint, wood, etc. No injuries were reported in the massive fire as all employees in Eastern Company Compound escaped in time. The shed, without any floors above, is surrounded by high rises on both sides. Due to the thick smoke that posed a risk to nearby residents, all buildings were immediately evacuated.
The fire, which broke out at around 11.50 am, was declared a level IV -- a major fire at 12.24 pm. Traffic on Dr BA Road and the congested Lalbaug and Kala Chowki areas led to the fire brigade facing difficulties to reach the spot. The fire was brought under control at 2.15 pm and 16 fire engines and 11 jumbo water tankers were pressed into service.
“The structure which caught fire was surrounded by congested hutments. Around 200 people were rescued from the adjoining low rise and high rise buildings. The fire was confined to godowns containing packaging materials, paint containers and paper rolls, gas cylinders, ceramic furniture etc,” Chief Fire Officer, P Rahangdale said.
Locals tried to douse fire, failed
Mahesh Gami, owner of Omkar Enterprises, located just next to the shed that caught fire said, “The fire had actually started at around 11.30 am at which time it was a minor one. I and some others working in nearby workplaces doused it. However, after around 20 minutes, we realised that there was smoke coming again from the same shed and this time it was not our hands to control the fire. It was spreading too rapidly. All the employees inside the shed ran out immediately."
“The structure was legal and there were people working there. But the copper wires, storage of inedible ghee and oil in the next shed escalated the fire. We will check if the premises has violated fire safety rules”, said Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Kishore Desai.
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