Bhiwandi fire engulfs 22 godowns, losses pegged at ₹250 cr

Thane: A fire at Richland Commercial Complex in Bhiwandi destroyed 22 warehouses, causing ₹250 crore in damages. No casualties reported.

Thane: A massive fire broke out on Monday at the Richland Commercial Complex in Bhiwandi’s Vadape village, engulfing 22 warehouses stocked with chemicals, printing machinery, electronic goods, health supplements, garments, event decoration materials, and furniture.

The fire erupted around 3.30am in one of three buildings in the complex which housed godowns of varied sizes and spread rapidly across the other two buildings (Pramod Tambe/ HT Photo)

The fire erupted around 3.30am in one of three buildings in the complex which housed godowns of varied sizes, stacked beside each other. It spread rapidly across the other two buildings, also made of metal sheets, and was brought under control more than 10 hours later, said fire brigade officials. Though no casualties were reported, materials worth ₹250 crore were gutted, said Sainath Tare, president of the Bhiwandi Warehouse Builder and Developers Association and a partner in Richland Commercial Complex.

“One of the godowns had decorative cloth material. We suspect the fire may have started there due to a short circuit or heat buildup,” Tare told Hindustan Times.

When the fire broke out around 3.30am, five watchmen were on duty at complex, said Tare. “The watchmen raised an alarm immediately while the fire spread rapidly spread across the premises,” he said.

The Bhiwandi Fire Brigade received an emergency call regarding the fire around 3:45am and immediately sent two fire engines and two teams to the spot, said senior fire brigade officer Rajesh More. One fire engine was sent from Bhiwandi while another was sent from Kalyan.

“It took us nearly 10 hours to bring the fire under control,” More told HT. “Our team is still at the site to douse the remaining flames completely.”

Fire officials said it may take another two days to completely douse the fire.

The 22 warehouses gutted in the fire were spread over 400,000 square feet and belonged to companies like KK India Petroleum Specialities, Canon India, Bright Lifecare, Holisol, and Abbott Healthcare.

An officer from Bhiwandi Taluka police station said the complex did not have any firefighting system of their own and the fire brigade was informed only after the fire had already spread across the three structures inside.

“The fire brigade managed to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent godowns through swift action,” he said.

Abhijeet Kaji, co-founder of medical apparel and equipment company Knya, which owned one of the affected godowns, said they heard about the fire on Monday morning.

“This was an unexpected blow — losing a significant part of our inventory overnight is never easy,” he said. “Luckily no one was hurt.”