Major fire at scrapyard in Mumbai's Mankhurd area, fire officer injured

MUMBAI: A major fire broke out at a scrapyard in suburban Mankhurd here on Friday, in which a 40- year-old fire brigade officer suffered minor injuries during the firefighting operation, officials said.

They said that the blaze erupted in Mandala, a slum-dominated area in the eastern suburb, around 2:45 pm. "The fire broke out in the scrapyard, where several things like plastic objects, tins and wooden material were kept. It was tagged a 'level-3' (major) fire," a fire brigade official said.

He said that sixteen fire engines, 11 water tankers are engaged in the firefighting operation, which is still on. "Station officer of fire brigade Harish Nadkar suffered minor injuries during the firefighting operation and he was rushed to Shatabdi Hospital at Govandi. His condition is stable," the official added.

There are several scrap godowns in Mandala area, which is located close to the dumping ground. Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited the spot to take stock of the firefighting operation. "Efforts are being made to ensure that the fire does not spread to nearby hutmets," she said.

She said that the place where the fire broke out is located on the Mumbai suburban district collector's land. "Complaints had been registered with the collector office by the civic body's K-West ward officer and local corporator from time to time about the illegal storage of oil barrels at the place," Pednekar said.

"Even action had been taken against in this connection with the help of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the police in the past, but the local land mafia again set up their dens as soon as the authorities return," the mayor said.

According to fire brigade, a fire is tagged level-3, when at least 12 fire engines are engaged in firefighting. The officials said that there are total five levels of fire and 'Brigade call' is the highest level of emergency.