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Massive blaze guts 500 shops in Pune, fireman dies in road accident
Over 500 shops were completely gutted after a major fire broke out at the famous Fashion Street market in the Camp area of Pune late on Friday night, officials said
Over 500 shops were completely gutted after a major fire broke out at the famous Fashion Street market in the Camp area of Pune late on Friday night, officials said.
While there was no casualty in the blaze, the head of Pune Cantonment Board’s (PCB) fire department was killed in a road accident while returning home after dousing the fire.
Prakash Hasabe died after his two wheeler came under the wheels of a bus on Saturday morning around 6.30 am. He was on his way home to Viman Nagar after finishing the fire fighting work at Fashion Street which was completely gutted.
PCB CEO Amit Kumar said “He called me around 2 am and briefed me that the fire was under control. He left the spot very late towards Viman Nagar.After that there was no information. His son became anxious and called saying that Hasabe did not return. He then received a call from some people who told him that his father had an accident and they were taking him to Sahyadri hospital . It’s a tragic incident which took place early morning.”
Fashion Street adjacent to MG Road is a famous destination that houses small outlets selling garments, shoes, goggles and other accessories. Local traders said there were 448 registered shops and over 200 unauthorised outlets located in the market.
It took the fire brigade six hours and 45 fire engines to douse the blaze completely. The cause of the fire was being ascertained, officials said.
Even though the market was shut when the blaze started, the fire brigade had a tough time negotiating the narrow lanes, which were encroached and had vehicles haphazardly parked. Precious time was lost in all this, said officials.
Fire brigade chief Prashant Ranpise said, “The reason behind the fire could not be ascertained. A large crowd at spot and water shortage also led to delay in fighting the blaze. The fire raged as there was a huge stock of clothes and footwear. “
The fire department received a call at 11 pm and rushed a few fire engines to the spot. But as the fire spread rapidly as the small shops were stacked with clothes, more fire engines had to be sent.
According to Pune Cantonment Board, a report was submitted in 2018 highlighting the “risk” of similar incidents and possible difficulty to deal with it at Fashion Street due to congested nature of the area.
The joint fire audit report submitted by the Chief Fire Officer, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Fire Brigade Superintendent of PCB was discussed at the special board meeting held in 2018 under the chairmanship of the then PCB President Brigadier Rajiv Sethi. The audit report says the market does not have sufficient exit points in case there is a fire and people have to be evacuated.
“It is a very serious matter in respect to the Fashion Street report submitted by the fire department of PMC. Fashion Street has become a risky place for fire incidents. We will be collecting information about owners of all the stalls and take action against any illegal stalls,” Brigadier Rajiv Sethi had stated on record.
In 1997, unauthorised vendors were evicted from MG Road and the administration provided these hawkers stalls of five feet by four feet in Fashion Street. A total of 565 shops came under the agreement.
The report pointed out that many shopkeepers used plastic curtains as partitions which are hazardous in the event of a fire and the narrow streets inside make it difficult to move. There are stalls outside the market serving as cafeterias or hotels and use fuels like LPG and kerosene, the report stated.
During a verification drive, the revenue staff of PCB found out that the place is not safe in the event of a fire. It was also pointed out that it would be difficult for a fire engine or ambulance to reach due to narrow and congested streets.
