Thane: Fire breaks out at godown; no casualty

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A fire broke out at a godown in Maharashtra's Thane district in the wee hours of Monday, a civic official told news agency PTI.

No one was injured in the incident, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi told PTI.

The blaze erupted at the godown complex located in Sonale village on the outskirts of Bhiwandi town, he said.

After being alerted at 2.40 am, firemen from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after about three hours, the official told PTI.

The cause of the fire was under investigation and officials were also trying to find out what was stored in the godown, the official told PTI.

Meanwhile, at least three persons died and two others injured in a fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon in a hotel in suburban Santacruz in Mumbai, officials told PTI.

Officials told PTI the Mumbai civic body had recently issued a notice to Galaxy Hotel, where the blaze erupted, for failure to adhere to fire safety norms, and a case was filed in court. The hotel had also allegedly made some structural changes.

The blaze broke out on the third floor of the ground-plus-four-story Galaxy Hotel in Prabhat Colony at 1:10 pm and gutted the electric wiring, power installations, air-conditioning system, curtains, mattresses, wood furniture in a couple of rooms and common areas like the duct, staircase and lobby, a fire brigade official told PTI.

"Three persons, identified as Rupal Kanji (25), Kishan (28) and Kantilal Gordhan Vara (48), were declared brought dead by hospital authorities. Alfa Vakhariya (19) and Manjula Vakhariya (49) are injured and are under treatment," the official told PTI.

The fire gutted wiring, furniture, air conditioning, and mattresses in room numbers 103 and 203, while it also destroyed clothes for laundry, room blankets in the staircase and lobby as well as wiring in the common duct from the first to third floor, the official told PTI.

The blaze, categorised as Level I as per fire brigade norms, was doused at 3:20 pm using three hose lines, one high-pressure first aid line as well as four fire engines, four water tankers and other equipment, the official told PTI.

Speaking about the incident, BMC H/East Ward Health Officer Dr Satish Badgire said, "We had recently issued a notice to Galaxy Hotel for failure to adhere to fire safety norms. We filed a case against it in court but no one from the hotel's side has replied to our notice."

Another BMC official said the hotel allegedly made structural changes and action would be taken by the civic body's building and factory department for such violation of norms.

The Mumbai Police have registered three different Accidental Death Reports (ADRs), an official told PTI.

"We are awaiting the report of the Fire department to ascertain whether the hotel, which is in the hospitality business, has violated norms," the official told PTI.

The police official said necessary action would be taken against the concerned person related to the hotel once the report is received.

(With inputs from PTI)