After fire incident, residents of Andheri and Lokhandwala are demanding the construction of a fire station. (Representational)

After a fire in Andheri West killed two people, including a seven-year-old child, residents of Andheri and Lokhandwala are demanding the construction of a fire station on a plot, part of which is reserved for the facility.

On Tuesday, two people died and one person was injured after a fire broke out on the 10th floor of the 21 storey SRA building on Veera Desai Road. The plot is now used for shooting films.

Dhaval Shah, a member of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association (LOCA), said there was an open plot known as Chitrakoot Ground near Andheri Industrial Area in Andheri West. In the old Development Plan (DP) of 1991, a part of this ground was reserved for a fire station. The BMC is aware of the issue, but did not take any effort to acquire the plot. If this fire station had been built, the casualties could have been avoided. The response time of the fire brigade could have been much faster,” he said.

Shah said, “The Versova Assembly constituency has a population of approximately 3.25 lakh and there is only one fire station in Andheri to cater to this population. Also, if there is a fire in the Oshiwara area, the fire tender will take at least 30-40 minutes due to traffic. When there is a fire accident due to traffic, often fire tenders from Goregaon are deployed that reach before the vehicles from the Andheri fire station arrive. A fire station is much needed before we have any other big accident.”

Another resident of Lokhandwala, Karan Jotwani, said, “A fire station is long overdue for our area considering the large population and innumerable commercial establishments and the frequent fire incidents in the last few years.”

Local MNS leader, Prashant Rane, has demanded immediate action on the acquisition of the plot and construction of a fire station. “The BMC should take over the plot and start setting up a fire station,” said Rane.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner of K-west (Andheri), Prashant Gaikwad, confirmed that a part of the plot had been reserved to build a fire station. “There is a reserved plot for a fire station, but we have to follow the due process before acquisition of the land. We have to pay compensation to the land owners before taking it over. Now, for the time being until a fire station is constructed, we will have a mini-fire station at this plot for a quick response.” he said.

A senior fire brigade official said, “According to the norms of the fire brigade, there should be a fire station at a periphery of every four kilometres for a better response time. We have also proposed another fire station at Amboli, which will help cater to Lokhandala and nearby areas. However, it was stuck due to court litigation against the plot.” he said.