Amid rise in temperatures, Mumbai sees 2 fire incidents in a day; no injuries

According to senior BMC officials, the incidents of fire increase with the rise in temperature as the usage of air conditioners multiply, thereby increasing the risks of short circuits in the city.

At 10.40 am, a blaze broke out inside a ground-plus-one storey godown at the Devidayal Compound’s Darukhana area in Reay road.

Despite the magnitude of the flames, according to civic reports, it remained confined to the godown, which was situated near the Britannia Company.

Ravindra Ambulgekar, the chief fire officer (CFO) of Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), told The Indian Express that the Devidayal compound houses several warehouses and the structure where the fire broke out spread to nearly five to six godowns storing different commodities from clothes, cotton, packaging material amongst other objects.

In a bid to confine the flames, the fire brigade pressed into operation ten fire engines, two fire tankers and eight jumbo tankers.

No injuries were reported in the incident, with the MFB extinguishing the fire by 5.20 pm.

Shortly thereafter, a minor fire broke out and spread to nearly 15 huts situated near the Hiranandani complex in Powai. The incident was reported at 11.19 am. While no injuries were reported, the fire spread to household items, wooden furniture alongside LPG cylinders, electrical installations in an area spanning 1500 sq feet in the shanties.

According to the BMC, the blaze was confined to between 12 to 15 hutments, and got doused by 12.43 pm.

The two incidents on Thursday came along the heels of another fire incident on Tuesday morning reported in Malad’s Orlem area in which 14 people, including four elderly people and one minor, were injured .

Out of the total persons who were injured, three of them sustained burns.

Responding to questions, Ambulgekar said that the city commonly witnesses an increase in fire outbreaks during summers, owing to multiplied short circuit incidents.

“Owing to heatwave, people start using ACs more often. If their regular maintenance is not carried out, it increases the load and leads to more short circuits,” Ambulgekar said.