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Sparks from pod hotel under construction cause LTT blaze
Mumbai A fire broke out inside the busy Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) on Wednesday at 2:45 pm, suspected from the ongoing construction work for a pod hotel on the premises
Mumbai A fire broke out inside the busy Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) on Wednesday at 2:45 pm, suspected from the ongoing construction work for a pod hotel on the premises. It was contained by 4:45 pm and extinguished by 5:24 pm. While no injuries were reported in the nearly three hours, it was designated as level-2 fire, by the Mumbai fire brigade.
A CR official said the blaze may have emanated from sparks while welding work was on, “which will be investigated”. The hotel is next to the Jan Ahaar canteen on the first floor of the concourse above the ticket reservation counters. The dome of the station was also burnt.
Ankit Soni, who works at the cash counter for the lavatories on the ground floor situated below the concourse, said: “We first heard the blast which seemed like that of a gas cylinder, and then the fire broke out. It spread slowly at first and then grew. My colleagues and I gathered all our stuff and dashed out of the exit.” As the fire did not spread rapidly, it gave enough time for approximately 40 people, including workers and those who were in the middle of their meals, to escape with the help of RPF and GRP personnel.
Health inspector Pratima Jena, who is posted at the terminus, recalled the “utter confusion” that prevailed at the time. A member of the reservation staff said, “When we heard about the fire, we stopped our bookings. It took us some time to lock up the cash boxes after which we ran for our lives.”
A worker at the station’s convenience store, Suraj Gupta, said, “Those outside could only see clouds of thick smoke, which were quelled after firefighting attempts began.”
As the space where the hotel is being set up had inflammable construction material – thermocol and wooden scaffolds -- the blaze gained strength.
RPF personnel evacuated the lobby of the station and closed the entry to contain the fire. The area of approximately 2000 to 2500 sq ft of the canteen, including electric wiring, electric installation, wooden partitions, false ceiling, iron props, wooden table, wooden chair, glass door, wooden doors, stock of plywood and office records were engulfed in the blaze. Over 17 fire fighting vehicles along with four ambulances were brought to the spot.
After things were brought under control, divisional railway manager Rajnish Goyal said, “Platform number 1 was closed down and three outstation trains were not allowed until the fire was controlled. We closed down power supply to the overhead equipment for 10 minutes as we didn’t know what cable had short-circuited.”
An investigation into the fire has begun, with a forensic team called soon after, said Goyal. As there was combustible material inside, “our men broke windows and tried to douse the fire, but since it was big, fire brigade was called”.
Deputy chief fire officer Rajendra Ghadge said the welding machine used on the construction site was seized and handed over to the L ward of BMC.
A fire brigade officer said it was a challenge to negotiate the narrow lanes of Tilak Nagar where cars are parked on both sides, to reach the spot. “Luckily we have got a fire station sanctioned for Tilak Nagar now,” he said.
The under-construction pods are compact with a size of 6ftx8ft each. They are for passengers who want to rest. They can book them by the hour. CR officials said plans are on to open it to the public by March 2024.
