The showroom, named Liza, sells bags and shoes. It has godown at the back which had caught fire.
The city saw its fifth major fire of the week on early Saturday morning, at a leather showroom at Reay Road at 4.30 am.
The showroom, named Liza, sells bags and shoes. It has godown at the back which had caught fire. The total area the fire spread to was around 10,000 sq feet, the fire brigade said. The fire was doused after four hours of operations. Five labourers present in the godown at the time the fire broke out outside. No injuries were reported.
The labourers claimed that the fire brigade reached the spot after an hour, during which time the fire escalated.
Prima facie, the cause of the fire was said to be a short-circuit. "But only after a proper investigation can we confirm the cause of fire," fire officials present at the spot said.
Eight fire engines and six jumbo tankers were rushed to the spot to subdue the flames.
The co-owner of the showroom, Mark Fernandez, said that they lost all goods worth Rs 3 crore. "We do not have insurance. We will start from scrach now. At least there was no loss to lives," he said.
He claimed that the fire brigade reached the spot late. His labourers also tried to call 101 but they could not connect.
"One of the labourers finally went running to Byculla police station and then to the fire station. Almost an hour had passed before the firefighting operations began," Fernandez added.
The fire brigade said they reached the spot as soon as they got the call and that there was no delay from their side.
A fire officer on the spot said, "We were at Scindia House in Ballard Pier for the entire night. We had almost reached the Wadala fire station when we got a call about the Reay Road fire and we turned back our fire engine."
"There were five labourers who usually sleep in the godown every day. One of the labourers smelt a wire burning. They walked around and saw the flames. All five ran outside," Fernandez said.
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 "Reay Road Store")
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