12 hours on, 250 Mumbai firefighters struggle to put out blaze at city mall

Around 250 personnel from the fire brigade have been deployed at the mall to control the blaze.

The massive fire at City Centre Mall in Mumbai Central area in South Mumbai continues to rage more than 12 hours after it started on Thursday evening and was classified as a level-5 blaze or a brigade call, in which fire engines are called from all agencies in the city.

The fire was first reported at around 9pm and was classified as Level-1 fire but it spread rapidly to become a Level-5 fire within hours.(Photo Courtesy- BMC)

Around 3,500 people from a neighbouring 55-storey building named Orchid Enclave were evacuated after Thursday midnight by the Mumbai civic body and fire brigade with the help of Mumbai Police.

The fire at City Centre Mall was reported at 8.53 pm on Thursday and was initially classified as a level-1 or small fire. The Mumbai fire brigade declared it a Brigade call or a Level-5 fire at 2.42 am. The fire fighting is still going on at the site with about 250 firemen, 24 fire tenders, and 16 Jumbo tankers pressed into the effort.

The fire started in a shop on the second floor of the four-storey mall on Thursday and spread to other floors. An official from the civic body said, “The smoke from the fire has been very thick and a few residents from the adjoining building vacated premises. Later, all residents were safely evacuated from the adjoining building with the help of Mumbai Police.”

Two firemen sustained minor injuries and were rushed to JJ Hospital. Fireman Shamrao Banjara was injured due to suffocation but his condition is now stable. Fireman Ramesh Chaugule sustained minor injury on his right hand.

Around 300 people were rescued from the basement plus three-storey mall after the fire broke out, an official quoted by PTI said.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited the site and reviewed the fire fighting operation, reported PTI. According to fire brigade officials, the exact cause of the fire was not yet known. Earlier on Thursday, a fire broke out in a garment factory at Kurla in Mumbai. It was doused after two hours.