27 October,2014 07:09 AM IST | | Pooja Kalwar
A godown full of alcohol bottles and plastic items fuelled the fire in the military canteen at Dockyard Road on Saturday, after it is assumed that a stray cracker burst inside
A godown full of alcohol bottles and plastic items fuelled the fire in the military canteen at Dockyard Road on Saturday, after it is assumed that a stray cracker burst inside. The fire began at 10.30 pm and the Fire Brigade took over three hours to douse it. No casualties were reported, as the canteen was shut when the fire began.
NSS volunteers helped shift the alcohol bottles and other goods that escaped the fire
A military staff member said, "As it was Saturday, the godown was shut early, otherwise loading and unloading of goods is carried out regularly even at night. We have called our higher authorities for an investigation into the exact reason behind the blaze."
Military staff say it will be possible to calculate the loss after an investigation is carried out
Fire Brigade authorities and military officials are attributing the cause of the fire to a stray cracker. Two security guards noticed smoke and flames emanating from the godown and informed the Fire control room and other military staff. The Fire Brigade teams arrived from Byculla and Wadi Bunder fire stations with six water tanks and 12 fire engines.
The flames engulfed one godown and managed to reach another, as there was a wooden partition between them. Military staff revealed that out of six godowns, one was destroyed in the fire while another was damaged. The godown that was destroyed contained plastic goods such as military shoes and other plastic items, and also uniforms and bags that caught fire easily within a short time.
Military officials were unable to estimate the loss and said it would be clear after an investigation is carried out. The fire was doused at 2 am and the cooling process was carried out till 4 am. A Fire official said, "It was a major fire as alcohol boxes were caught in it.
We reached the spot within 20 minutes. By then it had increased and was difficult to douse. We managed to douse it by 2 am." About 15 NSS volunteers helped shift the remaining alcohol boxes to another godown on Sunday morning.
Harbour route affected
As the godowns are located near the railway track, Harbour line trains were temporarily suspended. A K Singh, PRO, Central Railway, said, "As a precautionary measure, we suspended our train services on both Up and Down lines between 11.03 pm to 11.18 pm. The flames were very close to the railway lines, and so, we had to take the step."
