Fire destroys Sydenham management institute library in Mumbai

The library of the Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) was gutted in a fire that broke out at Sydenham College building in Churchgate on Sunday morning.

The library of the Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) was gutted in a fire that broke out at Sydenham College building in Churchgate on Sunday morning. The incident is likely to affect the lectures starting next week.

The fire destroyed books, wooden furniture and computers on the third floor of the institute. (Pratham Gokhale/HT PHOTO)

The fire destroyed books, wooden furniture and computers on the third floor of the institute. Four fire tenders were sent to the spot. Fire officials said short-circuit may have caused the fire, but it is yet to be ascertained.

“The entire floor will have to be cordoned off for some time. Students are on a term break at present, but once classes begin on January 2, we will need to find classrooms. We are yet to assess the total damage,” said an official from the college.

“We received a call at 5.21am. The fire tenders were dispatched immediately. The blaze was doused by 7.30am,” said an official from the fire department.

“As it was a holiday, handling crowd was not a problem.”

According to officials from the institute, the floor security was the first to notice smoke coming out of the library. “Within no time, he realised the fire is growing. He immediately called the fire control. The fire spread rapidly because of books and wooden furniture,” said the official.

SIMSREE functions on the third floor of the Sydenham College building and the entire floor, including the library and other classrooms, were renovated between 2007 and 2009.

“We are still reeling from the shock of the incident. We are lucky that this didn’t happen during regular sessions. Restoration work will take time and we will seek help from the government as well as our alumni,” said the official.

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