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A major fire broke out in a commercial building in Lower Parel area on Friday, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. This incident resurfaced bitter memories of past fire safety concerns, as it's not the first fire at Kamala Mills. The compound was the site of one of the city's worst fire disasters in December 2017.
The fire broke out in the Times Tower building in Kamala Mills compound of Lower Parel area around 6.29 am, the civic body officials said. Firefighters also used chisels and hammers to break the locks of the doors of the second-floor offices up to the 14th floor. The fire was brought under control by 10:17 am and was doused by 11.54 am.
There were no reports of any injury in the incident, officials said.
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The fire brigade declared it a level 2 (major) fire and sent fire engines and other fire fighting vehicles to the Times Tower building, the officials said.
The authorities had initially said that the commercial building had seven floors. They later updated the information, calling it a 14-storey structure.
According to the civic officials the blaze started from the electrical duct and was confined between the seventh and third floor of the Times Tower building. "Fire is confined to the electric duct from the 3rd to the 7th floor at the back of the 14-storey commercial building with a glass façade," officials said.
Speaking about the incident, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said: "Fire has broken out in the Kamala Mills compound for the third time in five years. There are no fire audits of the buildings. Illegal construction is on the rise here and the local MLAs are supporting it."
The Kamala Mills compound, which has witnessed many major fires, is located next to the Parkside residential building.
Parkside residents told PTI it was a "terrifying experience" to see plumes of flame and smoke rising close to their homes. According to the residents, their security staff tried to control the blaze with their building's firefighting equipment before firemen arrived at the scene.
"Our emergency team used our hose pipes before the fire brigade could reach the spot," one of the residents told PTI.
Previously, a fire had broken out at a restaurant in the Kamala Mills compound on December 29, 2017. As many as 14 people died and several others were injured.
Altogether 14 people were booked by the Mumbai Police, including the owners of the restaurants and their employees, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and the mill owners.
However, on November 10, 2020, the Mumbai sessions court discharged Ramesh Gowani and Ravi Bhandari, the owners of the Kamala Mills compound, from the case.
