Mumbai: A fire scare at the official residential premises of Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik triggered a firefighting response in the heart of South Mumbai on Wednesday morning after flames erupted in an air-conditioning unit at his bungalow. Fortunately, the incident ended without any injuries, but the fire at a minister’s residence, barely a short distance from the seat of State power, drew immediate attention.
The blaze broke out at around 11.43 am at Pavangad Bungalow, situated inside Amdar Niwas, opposite the Mantralaya bus stop in the Churchgate area. Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot after receiving the alert and classified the incident as a Level-I fire at 11.55 am.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) launched firefighting operations and managed to bring the blaze under control by 12.42 pm. The fire was subsequently completely extinguished. Officials confirmed that no one was injured in the incident.
Preliminary information indicated that the fire originated in the air-conditioning unit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be established. A Level-I classification generally indicates a fire that can be tackled with the initial deployment of firefighting resources.
The incident at the minister’s bungalow was among several fire emergencies reported across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region over the past two days, keeping firefighting teams on their toes.
Huts gutted in Wadala
In a separate incident on Tuesday night, flames engulfed two to four huts at Pratiksha Nagar near Mala Garden in Wadala. The Mumbai Fire Brigade received an alert from the police control room at 10.51 pm, following which the incident was classified as a Level-I fire call at 11.15 pm.
Firefighters rushed to the locality and launched an operation to contain the blaze. Mumbai Police, BEST personnel, the 108 ambulance service and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ward officials also joined the emergency response. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, a major fire at a scrap godown in Lohoti Compound, Bhiwandi, during the early hours of Tuesday caused extensive damage after the flames spread to an adjoining powerloom factory.
The fire was reported at around 2.03 am, triggering an intensive firefighting operation. As the flames threatened neighbouring premises, local residents and factory workers scrambled to move machinery, raw cloth and other materials to safer locations.
Despite their efforts and the firefighting operation, the powerloom factory was completely gutted, resulting in substantial property damage. No casualties were reported.
In another incident, a fire broke out at a wood godown in Talavali, Navi Mumbai, at around 2 pm on Tuesday. Fire brigade personnel rushed to the site and battled the flames for nearly one-and-a-half hours before bringing the situation under control.
No casualties were reported in this incident either.
With fires reported at a minister’s bungalow, residential huts, a powerloom factory and a wood godown within a short span, the series of emergencies has once again brought fire safety and preparedness across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region into focus. Although all four incidents ended without loss of life, the destruction of the Bhiwandi factory underlines the potentially devastating consequences of fire outbreaks in industrial and storage establishments.
