Navi Mumbai: Major fire at Pawane MIDC blacks out Vashi for 4 hours

A major fire broke out at Pawane MIDC near Turbhe yesterday, leaving residents of many areas in Vashi in the dark for more than four hours. The fire broke out around 7.30 am in the Sony processing unit at Pawane, after which fire engines from MIDC and Navi Mumbai rushed to the spot.

As the fire kept spreading, the smoke and heat reached the high-tension wires of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, causing one of them to start melting

No casualties were reported as the unit was shut. Officials from Sony refused to disclose the amount of damage caused due to the fire.

The wire was repaired later and the power was restored around 4.30 pm

Spread
The fire started spreading rapidly due to the presence of polythene raw materials and electronic items. "The fire is suspected to have been triggered due to a short-circuit in UPS batteries, but an investigation has to be conducted. Since most of the commodities inside the store room were combustible in nature, it became difficult to bring the fire under control.

However, 80% of the fire is under control. It could take a few more hours and the fire will be completely under control," Vijay Rane, chief fire officer, Navi Mumbai fire brigade, told mid-day in the evening. As many as 20-25 fire tenders had to be called from Navi Mumbai and its neighbouring regions, including Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and Dombivli.

Power cut
As the fire kept spreading, the smoke and heat reached the high-tension wires of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). After a part of a wire started melting, MSEB officials had to stop the electricity supply around noon.

A majority of Vashi was without electricity for more than 4 hours. "We could not do business as we depend upon computers. We had no option but to sit idle, waiting for the power to get restored," said Manoj Pawar, a travel agent.

S S Narayanan (60), a resident of Vashi said, "We have already started feeling the heat and humidity as there are no rains. With no power supply in the afternoon, I had a harrowing time."

Power restored
MSEB officials went to the spot and repaired the damaged wire. "A part of the wire was burnt and had melted, as a result of which we had to stop the power supply to avoid any major damage," said an official from MSEB. The power was finally restored after 4.30 pm.