Page 6 - Fire Accident

Major fire at Mumbai's Bandra mall doused after 22-hour operation

A major fire that devastated a mall in Mumbai's upscale Bandra area was controlled after more than 22 hours of firefighting, civic officials said on Wednesday. The blaze erupted around 4.10 am on Tuesday in the basement of Link Square Mall on Linking Road in Bandra West and was extinguished at 1.41 am on Wednesday after efforts by fire brigade personnel and other emergency services, the officials said. There was no report of anybody getting injured, they said. Initially confined to an electronics goods showroom, the flames quickly engulfed the upper floors of the three-storey mall, which houses over 200 commercial establishments and shops, and completely gutted it. By 6.25 am on Tuesday, the Mumbai fire brigade upgraded the blaze to Level IV' (major fire) and launched a large-scale response. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also joined the operation subsequently. After about 13 hours, the fire brigade controlled the fire with the help of 13 fire engines and other ...

15, including 2 children, killed in Kolkata hotel fire; rescue underway

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, though a short circuit is suspected, according to media report

22 killed, 3 injured in restaurant fire in China's Liaoning province

The fire broke out at 12:25 p.m. (0425 GMT) in a restaurant in a residential area of Liaoning Province's Liaoyang City, state broadcaster CCTV said

Major fire at electronics goods showroom in Mumbai; 12 fire engines on spot

A major fire broke out in a building housing an electronics goods showroom in the suburban Bandra area early on Tuesday, officials said and added there were no immediate reports of any injuries. This is second major early-morning blaze in the metropolis in two days. On Sunday, a major fire broke out in a building housing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in the Ballard Estate area. The officials said Tuesday's fire was reported in the multistorey building at Linking Road in the Bandra West area around 4:10 am. A civic official said the blaze was confined in the building's basement. Twelve fire engines and other firefighting vehicles are at the spot and efforts are underway to douse the flames, the official added. The fire brigade escalated the blaze to Level III, indicating a more severe category, around 4:49 am. The civic official said other agencies were also mobilised and added the cause of the fire was not yet known.

Wildfire in New Jersey Pine Barrens at 75% containment, say officials

Three-fourths of a vast wildfire in New Jersey's Pine Barrens has been contained, state officials said on Monday. The state Forest Fire Service said the blaze in southern New Jersey's Ocean County had grown to nearly 62 square kilometres but was 75 per cent contained. No deaths or injuries have been reported, though several buildings and vehicles have been destroyed officials said. A 19-year-old man from Waretown is charged with arson. Prosecutors say Joseph Kling set wood pallets on fire and left the area before putting them out, sparking what became the state's second-largest fire in nearly two decades. The Office of the Public Defender, representing King, said he's "presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law". It's forest fire season in the vast pine wilderness that covers more than 4,05,000 hectares -- an area roughly as large as the Grand Canyon -- and firefighters are contending with low humidity and the aftermath of a monthslong drought. The Pine Barrens sit

Delhi slum fire: CM Rekha Gupta mourns deaths, says govt helping victims

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday condoled the loss of lives in a fire at a slum in northwest Delhi's Rohini and said the government is taking all necessary measures to help the affected people. The local MLA and the sub-divisional magistrate immediately reached the spot to coordinate relief efforts, including provision of mobile toilets, medical assistance and food for the affected residents, Gupta said in a post on X. Two children died and five people were injured in the massive fire that gutted over 800 densely packed shanties in the jhuggi cluster this morning. Thick plumes of smoke billowed into the sky as firefighters toiled for three hours to douse the flames. Gupta expressed her "deep sadness" over the tragic incident and extended her condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. "We are monitoring the situation to ensure that timely support and rehabilitation are extended to every affected individual. The government of Delhi stands firmly with all those impact

Fire breaks out at ED office in Mumbai, important govt files destroyed

A major blaze broke out at the Enforcement Directorate's office building in south Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday, and the firefighting operations have continued for more than six hours, officials said. There were no reports of casualties in the fire that broke out at the Kaiser-I-Hind building in the Ballard Estate area, they said. Officials said the blaze, which started on the fourth floor of the five-storey building housing the ED office around 2.31 am, has continued to rage despite efforts. Firefighters are struggling to bring the blaze under control, a fire brigade official said. Mumbai Fire Bridge upgraded the fire to Level III at around 4.17 am, which is generally considered a major fire. At least eight fire engines, six jetties, water tankers and other equipment have been deployed to the spot. The official said several documents and equipment inside the office are feared to have been damaged. He said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Indians among 18 get Lifesaver Award for rescuing 22 from fire in Singapore

Eighteen individuals, including construction workers from India, were recognised with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) Community Lifesaver Award for saving 16 children and six adults from a fire at a Singapore shophouse last Tuesday (April 8). Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan's seven-year-old son was among those hurt in the fire at the three-storey River Valley Road building which houses a children's enrichment centre run by Newtonshow Camp. The children, aged between six and 10, six adults, aged between 23 and 55, were rescued and attended to by the 18 people from within the shophouse vicinity before the SCDF firefighting team arrived. A 10-year-old Australian girl, rescued from the fire, subsequently died at one of the hospitals. For all fire incidents, especially this one, time is of the critical essence. So, we really thank the members of (the) public who responded that day, even before SCDF's arrival, said Colonel Tay Zhi Wei, the commander of the 1st

Fire at China nursing home kills 20 elderly residents, 19 hospitalised

Twenty elderly people were killed in a fire at a nursing home in north China's Hebei province, local officials said on Wednesday. A total of 39 elderly residents were residing in the building when the blaze broke out around 9 pm on Tuesday (local time) in Longhua County, Chengde City, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The fire was extinguished by around 11 pm. A total of 20 people have been confirmed dead so far while 19 were sent to a hospital for examination. Police have detained the person in charge of the nursing home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the report said. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted Jimu News that the 300-bed Guoen Senior Home had 260 elderly residents at the time of the blaze, based on public records. Among them were 98 people with total disability and 84 described as semi-disabled. According to the records, the remaining 78 residents were capable of self-care. According to the licensing record, its business scope was

Highlights: Case against CAA protestors based on assumptions, says court in Delhi riots case

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Massive fire at warehouse in Gurugram, over 200 firefighters deployed

A massive fire broke out at a garment warehouse in Saraswati Enclave Industrial area here and soon spread to two adjoining warehouses of liquor and shoes, prompting a 12-hour operation to douse the blaze, officials said on Wednesday. While no one was reported injured despite the intensity of the fire that started late at night on Tuesday, there was extensive damage to goods in the warehouses. More than 20 fire tenders and over 200 firefighters had to be deployed to control the fire. According to a senior fire officer, a fire broke out in a garment warehouse in Saraswati Enclave Industrial Area at 11.49 pm on Tuesday night. Fire engines from the Sector 37 fire station reached the spot, but the fire spread rapidly to the adjoining liquor and shoe warehouses. Staff from all fire stations of the district and vehicles and firefighters from stations in Nuh and Jhajjar districts were also called, he said. The fire was brought under control after a 12-hour operation on Wednesday ...

Gujarat: PM Modi announces Rs 2 L ex-gratia for kin of Banaskantha accident

According to officials, the explosion at the firecracker godown in the Deesa area on Tuesday morning led to the collapse of the structure, trapping several workers inside

13 killed in blast at firecracker factory in Gujarat's Banaskantha

Members of the workers also lived on the premises and were trapped under the rubble, Banaskantha Collector Mihir Patel noted

Gas fire in Malaysia injures more than 100 people, damages 49 houses

A fire caused by a burst gas pipe spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia's largest city Tuesday, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometres (miles) and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10 am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the valves will eventually snuff out the fire. The flames, 20 stories high at one point, were small enough for firefighters to approach around 2:45 pm, the Selangor state fire department told the Star newspaper. At least 49 houses were damaged and 112 people were injured, with 63 sent to the hospital for burns, breathing difficulties and other injuries, Selangor Deputy Police Chief .

Cash discovery row: Delhi fire services chief appears before SC probe panel

The Supreme Court-appointed three-member in-house inquiry committee, probing allegations of alleged discovery of wads of cash from Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma's residence, met Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg here on Thursday. According to sources, Garg deposed before the probe panel at Haryana State Guest House at Chanakyapuri and recorded his statement. Garg, however, had denied claims of the cash discovery by the fire fighters. Earlier in the day, the leaders of six High Court bar associations met Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and sought withdrawal of the recommendation to transfer Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Soon after the meeting, Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) president Anil Tiwari said the CJI had assured them of considering the demands. However, the CJI did not promise anything, said sources privy to the development. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court late on Saturday night uploaded on its website an in-house

S Korea in uphill battle to contain massive wildfires as death toll hits 26

Multiple wildfires raging across South Korea's southern regions for days have killed 26 people and destroyed more than 300 structures, officials said, as thousands of personnel and dozens of helicopters were mobilized again Thursday to battle the the county's worst-ever blazes. Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said a small amount - less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) - of rain was expected in the area on Thursday, not enough to play a meaningful role in extinguishing the wildfires. The fatalities include a pilot whose helicopter crashed during efforts to contain a fire and four firefighters and other workers who died after being trapped by fast-moving flames driven by strong winds. Authorities haven't disclosed details of the civilian dead, except that they are mostly in their 60s and 70s. They suspect human error caused several of the wildfires that began last Friday, including cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks

Highlights: SC Collegium recommends Justice Varma's transfer back to Allahabad HC amid cash row

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Wildfires in Japan damage homes, force residents to evacuate in 2 areas

Wildfires have hit several regions in western Japan, injuring at least two people, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate and damaging a number of homes as hundreds of firefighters battled the widening blazes in the mountainous areas. The fires in the western towns of Okayama, Imabari and Aso broke out Sunday, quickly burning hundreds of hectares (acres). Six homes have been damaged in city of Okayama, where a fire started on Mount Kaigara and burned 250 hectares (600 acres) of the forest. In Imabari, in the Ehime prefecture on the main island of Shikoku, the fire left a firefighter slightly injured. Firefighters and defense helicopters sprayed water but the blazes in the two prefectures had not been extinguished as of Monday afternoon. Experts blamed dry weather and dried-up fallen leaves on the ground in the forest as likely causes of the wildfires in Okayama and Imabari. A smaller fire was detected in the mountainous village of Aso in the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern ma

'No cash found' at Justice Varma's residence, says Delhi Fire chief

Earlier in the day, media reports said a large stash of cash was recovered from Delhi HC Justice Yashwant Varma's residence during the course of fire-fighting a blaze at his residence

Fire breaks out at hospital in J-K's Rajouri, 150 patients evacuated

A fire broke out at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of more than 150 patients from the hospital, officials said. The fire was noticed in the basement of the hospital in Rajouri town on Tuesday morning. It was controlled within one hour without reports of any casualty, assistant director of Fire and Emergency Services, Himanshu Gupta, said. The patients and their attendants were taken out of the hospital building as smoke filled the wards, he said. Three fire tenders were pressed into service to put off the blaze, the official said, adding that a probe is on to ascertain the exact cause of the fire Deputy commissioner of Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma, visited the hospital along with his team to assess the situation. "Our priority is to restore normal operations, including OPD services, at the hospital," Sharma said. On the alleged failure of the hospital's internal fire safety mechanism, the deputy ...