No respite for Mumbai from fire; three more blazes reported since Monday

Three fire incidents were reported since Monday midnight, said a senior fire brigade official, adding to a string of such cases since December 29 when an inferno killed 14 people in a pub here.

However, no casualty was reported in the latest incidents, said the official.

A fire broke out just past midnight in a shop in a chawl in Dockyard Road, Byculla, he said.

"Six fire engines and water tankers were rushed to the spot and they doused the flames in less than two hours (by 2 am)," he said, adding no one was injured.

In the second incident, the fire brigade control room received a call at 10 am about a fire in a ground plus three- storey residential apartment on Juhu Tara Road in suburban Vile Parle.

"Fire brigade personnel immediately rushed to the spot and put out the blaze within 25 minutes," the official said, adding no one was injured.

The third incident was reported in the evening from Amboli Naka in Andheri (West) where a bamboo godown went up in flames, he said.

The blaze was reported at 5.37 pm and five fire engines were rushed to the spot, he said.

"The fire at the bamboo godown has been brought under control," the official said, adding no casualty was reported.

The cause of the fire at all the three places was not yet known.

The financial capital has been hit by a string of fire incidents in the last fortnight.

The deadliest of them was on December 29 when a devastating inferno killed 14 people at an upscale pub in the Kamala Mills Compound.

On January 4, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.

A 20-year-old man, who worked for a television serial production unit, was killed in a fire at the Cine Vista film studio in suburban Kanjurmarg on January 6.

Yesterday, a fire broke out is the sessions court building in south Mumbai in which some official records were gutted.

Earlier on December 18, 12 labourers were killed in a massive blaze at a snack-making unit in Saki Naka-Kurla.

As the metropolis battles frequent blazes, the fire department urged people and commercial establishments to take preventive measures to avoid such tragedies.

"Safety measures are a must to avoid such incidents. Apart from taking preventive steps, people should be alert and immediately inform the department about such incidents," said Deputy Chief Fire Officer Kailash Hivrale.

People should keep a watch on electrical wiring in residential buildings and commercial outlets, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya visited three film and TV studios after the fire at Cine Vista.

He said these studios, located in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup, don't have proper fire fighting systems in place.

"Today, I visited three film and TV studios and found they don't have fire safety systems in place. I told this to the municipal commissioner and demanded strong action against these studios," said the Mumbai North-East MP.