Huge fire burns down plastic godown near Mumbai; no injuries reported

Godown in Khan Compound at Shil Phata was used to store plastic granules; it took two hours to douse the flames

Fire broke out in a godown near Shil Phata, near Mumbra, a little after midnight on Tuesday. The flames spread rapidly within the godown because it was used to store inflammable plastic materials, and took more than two hours to douse, officials said. There have been no casualties.

The flames spread rapidly as the godown was used to store inflammable plastic materials. (Praful Gangurde)

Shil Phata is located around 29km from Mumbai city.

The Thane Municipal Corporation’s Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) received a call about the fire around 12.30am from locals living near the godown, which is located inside Khan Compound.“The workers staying beside the godown reported the fire. Within 20 to 25 minutes, the RDMC team reached the spot with four fire engines and four water tankers,” said Santosh Kadam from the RDMC.

“The godown was used to store plastic granules and the fire was huge, so it took two hours to douse it, after which cooling operations began and continued for 90 minutes,” Kadam said.

“The fire could have started because of a short circuit,” he added.

The godown is spread over one and half acres of land, and was filled with plastic granules, which were cleared using JCBs and Quick Response Vehicles, which were called to the spot, to prevent the fire from spreading.

The police are now investigating to establish the source of the fire.