Residents of C ward have long been demanding a fire station there but are yet to get one.
Residents of C ward have long been demanding a fire station there but are yet to get one.
The congested ward that comprises Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar areas is one of the most dangerous and disaster-prone wards in the city, with ever-booming wholesale markets of metals to textile, and gold and silver melting and refining units, along with poor infrastructure — narrow, half-encroached lanes and packed rows of old, dilapidated buildings.
On Saturday, Gokul Niwas, a low-rise building in Kalbadevi, came down crashing after a fire broke out in it. Locals claim the 50-year-old Mhada building was undergoing superficial repairs.
The incident claimed the lives of two senior fire officers — SW Rane and M Desai — and critically injured two others, SG Amin and chief fire officer Sunil Nesarikar.
Former BJP corporator from the area Janak Sanghvi had proposed the idea of constructing a fire station in the ward in 2010. "Given how dangerous the ward is at present, it needs a fire station on an urgent basis, or at least mini fire engines should be kept at different locations in the ward, so that they are readily available in case of an emergency," Sanghvi said.
He added that the ward comprises nearly 15.6% of the 16,000 cessed properties in the city, much of which are located in South Mumbai. "A majority of these properties are dilapidated and awaiting redevelopment. They can't survive the brunt of a major fire and will collapse unless the fire-dousing starts immediately," Sanghvi said.
Kalbadevi resident Hetal Shah too stressed the importance of a fire station in the ward. "Here, in case of a major fire, the response time matters. A local fire station could solve the problem," Shah said.
At present, for any fire in the ward, engines and tankers are sent either from the Colaba fire station or the Memonwada one in Byculla.
A senior fire department official, however, said a fire station may not serve the purpose in a congested ward like the C. "It will be difficult for fire engines to navigate the narrow lanes and bylanes of the ward and reach the affected spot. Unless the streets are cleared of encroachments and unauthorised parking and hawkers, a fire station won't help."
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