A fire broke out in a Big Bazaar store in Matunga Road on Monday evening. The fire, coupled with an explosion, led to dense smoke inside the store. There were no casualties or injuries as the store was shut for half a day due to the elections.
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The store, in New Era house on Mogul Lane, had been shut up to 5 p.m. and was about to re-open as the polling was coming to an end. “They opened the store and turned on the power supply. Within a few minutes, there was a fire,” said Milind Gadankush, senior police inspector, Mahim police station.
The building is a ground-plus-one-storey structure occupied by Big Bazaar. The fire was confined to the structure’s ground floor loft where there was dense smoke. At around 7 p.m., when the fire appeared to be under control, there was an explosion presumably from an LPG cylinder, leading to the flames flaring up again. The firemen had a close shave during the explosion, and several of their hose lines were burnt. Smoke turned out to be the biggest challenge for the firefighters, who had to use breathing apparatus.
Initially, Fire Brigade categorised it as fire level-II (minor) but as the fire spread, by 7.30 p.m., it was level-IV (major). The fire brigade utilised 12 fire engines, nine jumbo tankers, two quick-response vehicles, one turntable ladder and five water jets. Since it was a level-IV call, Chief Fire Officer P.S. Rahangdale himself went for firefighting operations.
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Local Member of Parliament and Lok Sabha election candidate from the region Rahul Shewale too visited the site.
“The store had just been opened, so when there was a fire, they all ran out. We have been told there is nobody trapped, missing or injured,” said an officer from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Disaster Management Unit.
The store had reportedly encroached upon its compulsory open space. BMC’s G North ward had sent it a notice in 2012, following which the owners moved court. The court had ordered status quo at the time.
“We had no access to this area. That is why we had to break down the common wall between this store and a neighbouring housing society,” said Ashok Khairnar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G North.
Firefighting operations were under way at the time of going to press.
“It was a half-day for us and we had to join duty at 6 p.m.. We were hanging around the main store area of Big Bazaar when the fire broke out. The accident occurred around 5 p.m. in the storage area where only the staff were allowed,” said an employee of Big Bazaar.
The people from the locality and employees of the companies around Big Bazaar rushed to the place. “I got to know about the fire through my friend at 5:30 p.m. who had called to check my status. I rushed to the place and found that the firefighters were already trying to tackle the flames,” said Abhinandan Sharma, an employee of Flexi Loans.
There were no casualties as there were no employees of Big Bazaar or any other companies around the vicinity due to the elections.
“I got a call from my daughter saying that Big Bazaar caught fire. In a few minutes I received a WhatsApp video from my friend about the fire. When I reached the place, I saw the firemen were at work with around 10 vehicles outside the store,” Mehindra Waghle, resident of Shree Ji Villa near Big Bazaar, said.