MUMBAI: A fire broke out at Aayakar Bhavan, the Income Tax Department’s office at Churchgate, on Monday afternoon, sending thick smoke through the six-storey building and prompting over a thousand employees to rush outside. There were no casualties or injuries.
The fire, classified as Level II or major, was reported at 2:01pm. Although it was confined to the basement, employees said smoke spread rapidly through the upper floors. They gathered outside as firefighting operations continued.
The BMC said the fire ignited electrical wiring and other electrical installations, records stored in cabins, scrap material, discarded records, paper stock and wooden partitions. Fire brigade sources said the fire is suspected to have been caused by a short circuit.
Around 20 firefighters and eight fire engines were involved in the operation. Glass windows were broken to ventilate the building.
The BMC said 15 employees from the first, second and third floors were evacuated through the staircase; another six people were brought down from the first floor using a ladder; and eight people who had taken refuge on the terrace were brought down via a ladder.
Santosh Sawant, deputy chief fire officer, told HT around 1,500 people were inside the building when the fire broke out. “The basement is spread across 12,000 sq ft, of which the fire had affected around 5,000 sq ft. The fire was largely contained within trunks, racks and cupboards in the basement, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Santosh Sawant, deputy chief fire officer, told HT around 1,500 people were inside the building when the fire broke out. “The basement is spread across 12,000 sq ft, of which the fire had affected around 5,000 sq ft. The fire was largely contained within trunks, racks and cupboards in the basement, he said.
{{/usCountry}}“We had to be cautious as there could have been sensitive documents inside the premises, and we wanted to make sure the firefighting operation did not damage them,” said Sawant. “As soon as we reached the building, we began to evacuate people floor-wise.”
Three staircases were used in the rescue operation. “In the second round, our personnel evacuated people via the staircases, while ladders were also used wherever required,” he said.
11 rescued from Kandivali blaze
Eleven persons were rescued from a fire in a four-storey commercial building on the Kandivali Station Road at 4:14am on Monday. The fire brigade said the blaze was confined to the fourth floor of Tirupati Banquet. Aluminium and decorative plastic sheets on the outside of the building were also charred. The building was smoke-logged and it took just under two hours to extinguish the blaze.
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