20221120 Hoarding above South Mumbai building catches fire, no casualties
India Nov 20 2022 “Building” “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Hoarding above South Mumbai building catches fire, no casualties
Updated: 2022-11-20
MUMBAI: A large illuminated advertisement hoarding above the ground-plus-two building housing Revival Restaurant, Banquet and Bar near Girgaon Chowpatty caught fire at around 2am on Saturday. However, no casualties were reported and the fire brigade managed to extinguish the blaze within 15 minutes.
Fire and BMC officials suspect that a short circuit in the electric supply source to the hoarding may have resulted in it catching fire. Local residents, who alleged that a hookah bar was operational on the building’s terrace, said they were reminded of the Kamala Mills tragedy which claimed the lives of 14 people in 2017.
A local said complaints had been lodged about the operation of the rooftop establishment in the past. “We have lodged complaints about the rooftop restaurant with the BMC and police. However, action is carried out for a day or two, then the operations are back,” a resident said.
BMC officials, however, said only the first and second floors had permissions to run an eating house, not the terrace. “When we visited the site, there was water everywhere due to the fire extinguishing process. We will go back again on Monday and examine all the permissions,” an official said.
“We will be enquiring from the licence department if the hoarding was erected with a valid permit from the department. Officials of the building and factory and health departments will inspect the premises and check whether the establishment had all required permissions in place. We will also examine if any joint was illegally functioning on the rooftop,” said a D-ward official.
According to fire brigade officials, the blaze was confined to the electric wiring, electric installation, steel and wooden frames and the entire hoarding. The fire damaged storage spaces and a few articles on the rooftop of the building.
A fire official said, “We received a call at around 2.15am and our team, which included two fire engines, reached the in five minutes. The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes.”
Web Source: The Times of India