Mumbai: Major fire at electronics goods showroom building in Bandra; NDRF called in for firefighting ops

Pic/Atul Kamble

A major fire broke out in a building housing an electronics goods showroom in the suburban Bandra area in the early hours of Tuesday, with the NDRF also being called in for firefighting operations, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries in the blaze, they said.

"Following a request from the Mumbai Fire Brigade, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was mobilised and reached the spot at 7.50 am," a civic spokesperson said.

A major fire broke out early Tuesday morning at a building housing an electronics goods showroom in Bandra West, officials said.

The fire erupted around 4:10 a.m. at the Croma showroom located in the basement of Link Square Mall, a three-storey commercial complex on Linking Road. The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) received the first report at 4:11 a.m.

Officials said the incident was initially classified as a Level I fire at 4:17 a.m., escalated to Level II at 4:28 a.m., and was declared a Level III fire - the highest severity - by 4:49 a.m.

The blaze was largely confined to the basement of the showroom, but thick smoke quickly spread throughout the entire building, which includes three basement levels, a ground floor, and three upper floors, severely hampering visibility.

Twelve fire engines, supported by other firefighting vehicles, were dispatched to the scene to battle the flames. Several agencies, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, Adani Electricity, the Public Works Department (PWD), and local ward staff, responded to the emergency.

Senior fire officials - including a Divisional Fire Officer (DFO), two Assistant Divisional Fire Officers (ADFOs), three Senior Station Officers (Sr. SOs), and three Station Officers (SOs) - led the operation. Resources deployed included 12 fire engines, nine jumbo water tankers, two breathing apparatus vans, a rescue van, and a water quick response vehicle. A 108 emergency ambulance was also stationed at the site as a precautionary measure.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This incident marks the second major early-morning fire in Mumbai in just two days. On Sunday, a significant blaze broke out at a building housing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in the Ballard Estate area.

The fire brigade received a call about the blaze at the multistorey Kaiser-I-Hind building, which houses the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office, near the Grand Hotel on Currimbhoy Road around 2:31 am on Sunday.

Fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and began firefighting operations. Around 3:30 am, the fire was upgraded to Level-II, which is generally considered a major fire, the fire brigade control room confirmed.

A civic official said the fire was confined to the fourth floor of the five-storey building.

The official said eight fire engines, six jumbo tankers, one aerial water tower tender, one breathing apparatus van, one rescue van, one quick response vehicle, and an ambulance from the 108 service had been deployed to the spot.