Fire breaks out at Orchid mall, Ghatkopar slum

The Mumbai fire brigade on Sunday, successfully dealt with two fires in the city that could have had serious consequences, had they not been doused.

The Mumbai fire brigade on Sunday, successfully dealt with two fires in the city that could have had serious consequences, had they not been doused.

HT Image

The first of the two fires began at around 3.15 pm at the Orchid Shopping Mall that is currently under construction in Goregaon (east).

Since the mall was under construction there was no water tank and water hydrant around the place. The fire brigade had to depend upon the lake in Aarey Colony to put off the fire.

30 jumbo tankers with a capacity of 16,000 litre were rushed to the spot. The fire department classified it as a Level 2 fire, indicating that it was a serious blaze.

According to the fire brigade officials all the construction material and the debris were dumped in the basement.

“Nobody was injured in the fire as the mall was not functional. A fire officer sustained burn on his ears but he was fine,” said Atmaram Shinde, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Western Suburbs.

The fire was completely put out at around 10.30 pm. A fire department official said that the situation was under control. “The reason for the fire is not know and we will investigate the reason,” added Shinde.

In another incident, five to seven hutments in the slums at Ramabai Nagar caught fire at around 6.45 pm after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the huts. Once the residents raised an alarm, fire tenders swung into action and doused it without any delay. No one was injured in the incident.