45 offices hit in Pydhonie building fire

Around 45 offices were affected in a major fire that broke out on two floors of Shamim Mansion, a ground-plus-three structure, on Nagdevi Cross Road in Pydhonie on Friday morning. No injuries or casualties were reported in the blaze.

The structure was partially wooden and housed several offices of dealers of industrial parts such as ball bearings and rubber pipes. Locals said one family that resided on the third floor managed to escape the fire.

The Fire Brigade received information about the fire at 1.03 a.m. Officers labelled it a Level 4 fire at 2.43 a.m. and pressed into service 14 fire engines and 10 jumbo tankers. The fire was extinguished at 8.08 a.m. and cooling operations were carried out through the day.

Fire officials said they haven’t been able to ascertain the cause of the fire or where the fire started. Locals said that the fire broke out due to a short circuit. Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said that three cylinder blasts aggravated the fire. He said, “The middle portion of the building partially caved in from the third floor to the first floor.”

Fire officials said they had a tough time negotiating the narrow lanes in the area. Mr. Rahangdale said, “It was a very congested area and there was little gap between the buildings, which added to the risk.”

Vimal Shah, whose office is on the second floor of the building, said the private building had no structural issues. Mr. Shah said, “Around seven to eight years ago, we completely repaired the building. There are around 40 to 45 offices in the building, most of which have been affected in the sudden blaze.”

Huge losses

Mr. Shah said the losses incurred to the businesses operating out of the building would be huge. Mr. Shah said the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority was undertaking propping works as a precautionary measure and would conduct a structural audit.