Fires break out in Bandra, Andheri

Mumbai: Nearly 70 homes were gutted after a major fire broke out at Nargis Dutt Nagar slums in Bandra (west) late on Tuesday morning while another 50 were incinerated in a blaze that occurred an hour later at Anand Nagar slum in Andheri (west).

Apart from two female Bandra residents who were rushed to civic-run Bhabha Hospital after fainting due to mental shock, no casualties were reported in either incident. Unconfirmed reports said both fires were caused by cooking gas cylinder blasts.  

Twenty-five engines and eight water tankers were at the spot to douse the blaze that started in Nargis Dutt Nagar slum, which is located opposite the Bandra fire station, at 11.50 am.

According to Brihanmumbai Munici-pal Corporation (BMC) officials it was a level-IV fire. Mahesh Narvekar, chief officer, BMC disaster management unit, said, “We suspect that a cylinder blast might be the cause of the fire, but it’s still being investigated.”

“A joint team comprising Fire Brigade officers, ward staffers and Mumbai police personnel have been mobilised to douse the flames,” he added. Aslam Shaikh, a tailor by profession and a resident of the Nargis Dutt Nagar, said, “The house in which I was staying belongs to my brother-in-law. All our belongings were gutted in the fire and we will have to spend the night on the streets.”

In the Anand Nagar incident, four fire-tenders battled the blaze for nearly two hours and a big cloud of smoke was seen coming out as firefighters tried to get the fire under control.

In August, four people, including an elderly woman, died and sixteen were injured in a fire that broke out at a high-rise apartment building in central Mumbai. Over a hundred people lived in the building.