Fire incidents killed 102 in 5 years in Mumbai: fire brigade

Earlier in August this year, three persons died in the Galaxy Hotel fire.

In another fire incident in the same month, a senior citizen died after a fire broke out in Santacruz (West).

In March this year, two persons died after a blaze erupted in a hardware godown at Sakinaka in Andheri (East).

The MFB’s data also shows between January and July this year, the MFB recorded close to 10,000 disaster calls, out of which 2,925 or 30% were related to fire breakout, while 4,515 or 45% were help calls demanding rescue operations following house and building collapse incidents and  drowning incidents, while 2,533 or remaining 25% calls were categorized under “others” category.

The MFB’s data also show that in 2022 during this period, the MFB recorded 14,000 emergency calls, out of which around 4,000 or 29% were related to fire, while 6,300 or 45% were related to rescue calls.

The MFB’s data also state that between 2018 and 2023, so far, 18,272 fire incidents were reported in Mumbai, in which 967 people were injured besides the 102 lives that were lost.

A fire broke out in around 20 shops where scrap material and vehicle spare parts were kept, in Kurla area of Mumbai in December 2022. (PTI)

Ravindra Ambulgekar, chief fire officer (CFO) of Mumbai said that overall, the cases of major fire breakout are coming down.

The officials have also maintained that in each fire incident, safe evacuation of the victims has been a primary challenge, especially from high-rises.

“Even though fire incidents are being reported, the number of incidents where lives are lost are coming down.This shows that people are becoming more aware about safety measures and the brigade has also become pro-active when it comes to carrying out rescue operations,” Ambulgekar told The Indian Express on Wednesday.

“The maximum number of calls that we are getting are rescue related operations which also includes animals and birds trapped on trees, the edge of buildings and cables set up on electric and telephone poles,” Ambulgekar said.

At present, Mumbai has 35 fire stations and 19 mini fire stations for rescue operations.

Recently, at ward level 22 Quick Response Vehicles (QRV) have been introduced to tackle fire incidents at the ward level.

These QRVs are designed in a way that they are able to enter and move through dingy lanes of the congested localities that exist in the city.