A fire broke out in the Income Tax office in South Mumbai on Friday, but no casualties were reported, a Fire Brigade official said.
Seven people, including a fireman, were injured.
The blaze started on the third floor of the I-T office located in multi-storeyed Scindia House and quickly spread to the fourth floor. It hasn't been doused yet and efforts to control the fire are still underway," he said.
The blaze started at 4.50 pm and a level IV fire was declared at 7.20 pm.
The fire brigade reached the spot in half an hour and began their operations. At the time of this report going to print, there were 16 fire tenders and 10 jumbo tankers on the spot. The fire was initially a level III fire. However, a large presence of paper and wooden furniture on the I-T office floor led to a quick escalation of the fire to level IV.
Six people, who were trapped in the office, were rescued from the roof of the building by the firefighters around 5.30 pm.
Bystanders say a short circuit must have caused the fire. The fire was so massive that firemen believe all papers in the I-T office might have been gutted.
"Four water tankers, along with adequate number of Fire Brigade personnel, were rushed to the site to douse the flames," an official said.
The question of sabotage was also raised as the fire started on the floor which houses the I-T office. The office had several important government files and records.
RTI Activist Anil Galgali said, "The Scindia building has the I-T department's office. Crucial files related to Nirav Modi corruption case are said to have been destroyed in the fire. Was the fire started intentionally?"
A fire official said, "As of now, we have used 140 breathing apparatus in total. Sometimes, we resort to using a wet towel or a handkerchief. For us, rescuing people is more important."
A firefighter, Yashwant Dagdu Bhasal, also got injured during the fire-dousing operations. Bhasal was taken to Saint George hospital along with six other people who were rescued. The fire department officials present in the hospital said that Bhasal was taken the to hospital due to an excessive intake of smoke.
Seven people were injured in the fire. The condition of all the injured is said to be stable. Those injured include — Nilesh Kulkarni, Ganesh Solanki, 46, Ajit Kadam, 35, Ramesh Dupare, 50, Vinod Turate, 39, Abdul Shaikh, 52 and fireman Yashwant Dagdu Bhasal, 55.
The building also houses the office of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT).
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