Fire breaks out in Thane building, 30 residents evacuated to safety

Blaze began early on Monday because of short circuit and spread to parked cars nearby; one resident admitted to hospital

A fire broke out in a residential building in Thane city in the early hours of Monday, sparked by a short circuit. Fire brigade officials have evacuated 29 residents and admitted one to hospital.

The fire started in the meter box room in the ground floor of Rajhans building and spread to the cars parked nearby. (Photo courtesy: Thane Municipal Corporation)

The fire started in the meter box room in the ground floor of Rajhans building at Gaondevi around 3.30am, and spread to the cars parked nearby, officials said.

Disaster control and fire brigade officials rushed to the site with two fire engines and one water tanker.

“The fire started because of a short circuit. We reached the site immediately after we got a call. There was not much of a fire to douse, but there was a lot of smoke, so we decided to evacuate the residents,” said Santosh Kadam, disaster management officer with the Thane Municipal Corporation’s Regional Disaster Management Control department.

“We evacuated 29 people from the building safely. One person has been admitted to Bhansali hospital for treatment as he had inhaled the smoke and was facing breathing problems. It’s not a serious injury,” Kadam said.

It took around 30 minutes to douse the blaze, he added.

Officials from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd also reached the spot to help civic officials with the electrical wiring and related matters.