Three major fires hit Mumbai on Diwali night; no casualties, police say cause not yet determined

Mumbai Police said on Monday that several fire incidents in the city are being investigated and that their exact causes have not yet been determined. Police said appropriate action will be taken depending on what the investigation finds.

Municipal corporation officials said at least three major fires broke out at different places in Mumbai on Diwali night. They damaged several huts, shops, a commercial building and a garage. No casualties were reported in any of the incidents.

Police said the incidents are being investigated so that the cause of the fires can be established. Officials have not yet reached any conclusion on what set off the fires. The findings of the ongoing investigation will decide further action.

The first major fire broke out in Dongri. A severe blaze erupted at around 10 pm on Sunday at Haji Kasam Chawl on Dr Maheshwari Road. It was initially treated as a Level 1 fire but was upgraded to Level 2 as the firefighting effort grew.

Several shops and huts were engulfed. According to municipal corporation officials, the fire spread to electrical wiring and equipment, wooden furniture, LPG cylinders, chemical drums and tarpaulin sheets. Firefighters worked through the night, and the fire was fully doused at 7.23 am on Monday after an operation lasting more than nine hours.

The second fire was in Andheri. A Level 2 fire broke out at 10.51 pm on Sunday in a garage on Marol Military Road, near a school. Fire engines reached the spot and the blaze was brought under control at 3.50 am on Monday after an operation of about five hours.

The third incident occurred in Vidyavihar. A fire broke out at 11.56 pm on Sunday in Skyline Vida, a 10-storey commercial building near Jolly Gymkhana. The fire spread from the seventh floor to the tenth. The fire brigade then declared it a Level 2 call at 12.52 am on Monday. Firefighting went on for about six hours, and the fire was put out at 5.55 am.

The Dongri fire took more than nine hours to bring under control, while the Andheri and Vidyavihar fires took about five to six hours to extinguish.