A major fire that broke out in South Mumbai’s Walkeshwar area recently saw locals dipping into the Banganga Tank to douse the blaze. Pictures showed locals taking water from the heritage tank in buckets to put out the fire.

Days before that, a fire had broken out in a building near the Dadar flower market. Again, locals were the first to respond. Something similar happened when another fire broke out in the densely populated Chira Bazaar area in Girgaum, when a kerosene stove exploded in a building. The stove explosion was followed by a cylinder blast, which fuelled the blaze.