Former fire chief makes first call to combat Lower Parel blaze

Mumbai: A level-3 fire was reported at the Raghuvanshi Mills compound, in Lower Parel, at 7pm on Friday

Mumbai: A level-3 fire was reported at the Raghuvanshi Mills compound, in Lower Parel, at 7pm on Friday. There were no injuries or deaths and the fire was extinguished by 10:30pm, confirmed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management control room.

An experienced hand’s presence helped save time and the fire brigade to bring it under control sooner. “I have fought fire here twice in the past. This is a very congested area; so I am aware how soon it can go out of control and what the consequences can be,” said former Mumbai fire brigade chief, Prabhat Rahangdale. He cleared the vehicles in the lane immediately to provide easy access to the fire vehicles and guided the first fire fighting motor inside. (HT PHOTO)

One of the first people to spot the fire was a seasoned fire officer – former Mumbai fire brigade chief, Prabhat Rahangdale, who was in the vicinity meeting a friend over coffee.

Spotting the lick of flames visible from the third floor of a commercial building, he cleared out people from the area and alerted fire brigade chief Sanjay Manjrekar, asking him to immediately send vehicles to combat level-2 fire, which escalated to level-3 eventually.

An experienced hand’s presence helped save time and the fire brigade to bring it under control sooner. “I have fought fire here twice in the past. This is a very congested area; so I am aware how soon it can go out of control and what the consequences can be,” said Rahangdale. He cleared the vehicles in the lane immediately to provide easy access to the fire vehicles and guided the first fire fighting motor inside.

The mill currently houses multiple furnishing showrooms and restaurants, and has seen major fires in the past as well.

Sanjay Manjrekar, chief fire officer, said that he received the call from the fire brigade control room as he was speaking to Rahangdale.

Puneet Asar, owner of one of the showrooms in the mill said, “We were shutting our shops and leaving when we heard about the fire and evacuated immediately. All showrooms have firefighting equipment here.”

Another citizen who works in an office nearby said the fire started from an air conditioner in an office on the third floor, which spread to a restaurant on the second floor. Twelve fire engines, six jumbo tankers and other emergency vehicles were also dispatched for the operation.

When a fire broke out at Raghuvanshi Mills on June 25, 2020, it took fire brigade more than 23 hours to bring it under control. Rahangdale was the fire chief at the time.