Mira-Bhayandar: Hundreds of people were rendered homeless after a massive fire broke out in a slum settlement located near the Golden Nest circle in Bhayandar (east) during the early morning hours on Wednesday. The fire was reported at around 5:30 am from Azad Nagar- a densely populated slum settlement which also housed dozens of scrap godowns storing hazardous material, triggering panic and chaos.
Maharashtra: Major Fire Breaks Out At Densely Populated Slum Cluster In Bhayandar | Suresh Golani
Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) chief- Sanjay Katkar immediately reached the spot and co-ordinated with his counterparts from adjacent cities to mobilise additional fire tenders, while personally supervising the fire-fighting operations. As a result, 14 fire tenders from neighbouring cities including Mumbai, Thane and Vasai-Virar responded to the brigade call and joined MBMC’s ten fire tenders in the fire fighting operations. 12 water tankers were also pressed into service.
“We received the call around 5:55 am. While one person identified as-Deepak Chourasia alias Pappu (42) died due to fatal burn injuries, five persons including two children and three fire personnel including Shivaji Sawant, Santosh Patil and Hitesh were injured during the fire fighting and rescue operations. Hundreds of people were safely evacuated.” said chief fire officer- Prakash Borade.
Massive loss of property reported
A major loss of property has been reported as nearly 50 huts along with dozens of scrap godowns and other commercial establishments were gutted in the flames. It took more than four hours for nearly 134 fire fighters to douse the raging flames. Although the exact cause is yet to be ascertained, the fire reportedly originated from a scrap godown apparently due to a short circuit and spread to the entire locality. Loud explosions were also heard hinting at gas cylinder blasts as a suspected factor behind the massive blaze.
“While explosion of four gas cylinders is suspected, eight more cylinders and seven air compressors (which are used for industrial purposes) were safely removed.” said a fire fighting personnel. Meanwhile legislator- Pratap Sarnaik and volunteers from Bhayandar led by Jameel Shaikh and Azim Tamboli visited the spot and ensured arrangement of food and other relief material to those who were rendered homeless in the fire which has yet again highlighted the need of implementing safety regulations-especially in densely populated slum areas in the twin-city.
At least five fire tenders rushed to the spot and were engaged in firefighting operations, intially. Local authorities also reached out as soon as the news of the tragedy was received. There are no reports of any casualties in the incident, however property damage was a big challenge for the slum dwellers.
Maharashtra: Major Fire Breaks Out At Densely Populated Slum Cluster In Bhayandar | Suresh Golani
Visuals of the fire showed massive flames taking over the slum area. Thick black smoke billowing from the burning houses was also seen covering the sky above. A crowd of people, possibly residents of the area were seen witnessing the flames, with some engaged in efforts to douse off the blaze.
