Shop catches fire in Sitabuldi

 

 

Fire fighters faced a testing time on Sunday as they battled flames in a shop on Sitabuldi Main Road. After a call was received about fire near Modi no 1, fire fighting team took off quickly, as any delay and topography of the area indicated the need for controlling the blaze by avoiding its spread. So the Fire and Emergency Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) mobilised almost all of their resources keeping in mind need to cool off the blaze before it went out of hand. However, for the firemen, reaching the spot itself was the first challenge and that too near the Sangam Patang Stores.

 

The building is owned by Ajay Chourasia and it is a G+4 structure and is surrounded by other shops with no space for separation between them. The other establishments in the building were Ajay Garments, Padma Jewellery and Cosmetics. B P Chandankhede, officiating Chief Fire Officer, said that the first task was to secure the place and Sitabuldi main road was jam-packed as it was last Sunday before Diwali. It was difficult to place the water tender near the shop as fire fighters could not get access from Modi no. 1 lane as it is very narrow. So the entire operation of controlling the flames had to be done from front side, he said further. The firm was functioning from ground floor and first floor while other two floors were occupied by families residing in it.

 

The CFO said tenders from eight of the nine fire fighting stations of NMC were called to the spot as the concern was to ensure that flames does not spread fast. Given the fact that the shops were having stock of flammable material, thick black smoke could be seen billowing out from a distance of one km in the surrounding area. Chandankhede said the call was received around 2 pm and it took nearly four hours to douse the flames. Thereafter more time was needed to cool down the embers to ensure the flames do not erupt by any chance. The close proximity of other establishments and large stock owing to Diwali ahead was a major worry for the firemen leading the charge.

 

Almost nine water tenders and all the senior officers of the fire fighting force were at the spot, indicating the seriousness of the fire call. The congested place forced the firemen to place the water tenders about 100 to 200 feet from Sangam stores. Chandankhede however acknowledged the timely help they got from Goel Ganga Complex as they could use the water hydrants liberally. About 1.5 lakh litres of water was drawn and that helped in faster dousing off the flames. The firemen were still in process of determining the cause of fire. Even the estimate of loss was not assessed as fire fighting operation took almost eight hours to complete.