20230526 Night blaze guts nine large godowns at Timber Market
India May 26 2023 “Building” “Houses” “Warehouses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Night blaze guts nine large godowns at Timber Market
Updated: 2023-05-26
PUNE: Nine large godowns of plywood, wood and laminates located in the Timber Market area, off Nehru Road in Bhawani Peth, were gutted in a fire that broke out around 4 am on Thursday. Apart from these godowns, 13 small houses and a bungalow were also partially damaged in the blaze. No one was injured in the incident, said fire brigade officials.
Firefighters managed to control the flames by around 10am, but at some spots, they continued to smoulder till 3pm on Thursday.
City fire brigade chief Devendra Potphode told TOI, “We received the emergency call at 4.30am. The fire broke out in one of the godowns, but it is not known which one as of now. The structures are mostly made of tin sheets and iron bars; some have concrete walls. The cause of the fire is also not known yet.”
He added, “So far, nine godowns have been gutted in the incident. Apart from them, 13 small houses and a bungalow were partially damaged. The wood, plywood, laminates and other material stored in the godowns provided fuel to the blaze.”
Potphode said, “We moved out 10 LPG cylinders from a nearby nearby to a safe place to avert further spread of the fire. Some 30 fire tenders and some water tankers were pressed into action for more than 11 hours to extinguish the blaze.”
An owner of one of the godowns, Prakash Mutha of Vardhaman Enterprises, told TOI, “I had locked up on Wednesday night and gone home. Around 3.45am on Thursday, some people from Timber Market called me about the fire. I reached the spot and saw flames rising high from my shop. It was a devastating sight.”
Another shopkeeper said, “After receiving the call, I rushed to my shop and saw it completely destroyed. All the people from the slum pocket were running helter-skelter for their lives.”
Ruling out foul play, Mutha added, “I feel it is not sabotage. It must be an accident.”
Web Source: The Times of India