Cylinder blast sets building near Bombay Stock Exchange on fire

The building, which houses the offices of stockbrokers and advocates, is located on the British Hotel Lane in Fort

JK Somani, a three-storey commercial building near Bombay Stock Exchange was engulfed in flames early on Thursday. There were no casualties.

A fire broke out on the second and third floors of JK Somani building at Fort on Thursday. (Bhushan Koyande/HT)

At 1:30 am, the fire brigade sounded a brigade call — all fire stations across the city were alerted and summoned.

The building, which houses the offices of stockbrokers and advocates, is located on the British Hotel Lane in Fort.

The Mumbai fire brigade deployed 20 fire engines, 12 water tankers, two turn-table ladders, an aerial ladder platform, two emergency medical service vans and two ambulances. The blaze was finally doused at 6.45 am.

No casualties were reported. (Bhushan Koyande/HT)

“The second and third floor were engulfed by the flames after two or three LPG cylinders burst. The adjacent buildings were vacated for safety purposes and also so we could control the fire more efficiently,” said PS Rahangdale, chief fire officer.

“There was no possibility of the fire spreading to other buildings. No injuries have been reported,” said fire official.

The central part of the building partially collapsed and cracks have developed on the facade.