Bhayandar: Machinery and raw material worth lakh of rupees was engulfed in flames after a major fire broke out at a nail polish manufacturing unit in an industrial area of Bhayandar (E) during the early hours on Friday. Fortunately no casualties were reported.
However, the incident has yet again brought to fore the need to put adequate measures and much needed licensing mechanism to ensure proper fire fighting apparatus in place. According to the police the fire broke out at around 5 am at an industrial unit in MI Udyog Nagar in Bhayandar (E) which makes nail police and other cosmetic items.
It took more than three hours for the fire brigade personnel and four fire tenders from the fire and emergency wing of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to control the highly intensive blaze owing to the massive storage of inflammable substance.
Although the exact reason is yet to be ascertained, fire brigade personnel suspect an electrical short circuit as the reason which might have sparked off the fire. While a fire incident case has been registered, the Navghar police are investigating to ascertain if there was any negligence or illegalities which triggered the fire.
“Most major fire incidents could have been avoided if the structure’s internal firefighting system was maintained properly. Unfortunately here we have no proper mechanism to monitor the status of fire-safety equipment-especially old structures and industrial establishments,” revealed a retired a civic official while emphasizing an urgent need to create a culture of safety and accountability.
-Suresh Golani
