Blaze spread as fire brigade was not called immediately

Mumbai: If the Big Bazaar store, which caught fire on April 29, would have been open, the damage caused would have been less, according to the fire brigade. The Mumbai Fire Brigade’s investigation report, on the cause of the fire, which was submitted Friday, has observed that the delay in informing the fire brigade about the fire caused it to spread. As April 29 was voting day, the shop was closed due to which the store manager learned about the fire late.

A fire officer said, “The shop was supposed to open at 6 pm and around 4.45 pm when the blaze erupted, the security and some office staff was present, but outside the store. They were about to open the store when one person saw smoke from the accounts office on the mezzanine floor. However, instead of informing the fire brigade, the staff tried to douse the fire with an extinguisher but in vain. There was a delay of 25 to 30 minutes in informing the fire brigade.”

“As per circumstantial evidence, the fire started due to a short circuit. It spread rapidly due to explosions of UPS batteries, the AC compressor, and excess storage of store materials such as deodorants etc. There was excess storage ahead of the sale from May 1 to 5,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, Big Bazaar will continue to remain shut until all documentation is completed with the BMC. The BMC has served a show cause notice to the property owner, asking for an explanation as to why the trade and health department licence should not be terminated. Ashok Khairnar from the G-south ward said that they had not received any reply till date.