Fire destroys dispensary inside civic school in Thane; no casualties reported

Fire broke out early on Monday morning when both the school and the dispensary were closed.

Fire broke out in a state-run primary healthcare unit situated on the ground floor of a civic school in Thane early on Monday, badly damaging the dispensary. There were no casualties as both the school and the dispensary were shut.

It was not a minor fire, and the dispensary has been damaged badly, fire officials said. (Prafful Gangurde)

The incident took place in a three-storeyed Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) school in Gandhi Nagar, on Pokhran Road number 2.

“The fire started around 6.30am. It was not a minor fire, and the dispensary has been damaged badly. The Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) reached the spot and helped the fire department douse the fire,” said Santosh Kadam, RDMC, TMC. “We don’t know if there are any fire safety measures within the building.”

Shashikant Kale, chief fire officer, Thane, said: “As soon as we got the call, we left for the site, but because of narrow lanes, the big fire vehicles could not reach the site. So, initially, we used light potable pumps, and later, we managed to get small vehicles inside.”

Recently, a proposal has been put forth to install fire safety equipment inside TMC schools.