Fire damages vacant Bhandari Wada in Pune's Guruwar Peth; burning firecracker suspected

A fire broke out on Tuesday night in the old Bhandari Wada near Pancha Haud in Guruwar Peth, Pune. The fire is said to have started when a burning firecracker fell inside the wada. The two-storey wada was vacant. The building was badly damaged, but no one is reported injured.

According to the Pune Fire Brigade, the control room received a call about the fire at 10.38 pm on November 10. A vehicle was immediately sent from the fire brigade headquarters to Bhandari Wada at Survey No. 809.

On reaching the spot, the firefighters found the fire raging on the upper floor of the old, vacant building. Before starting to fight the fire, they asked people nearby and made sure no one was trapped inside.

The wada was in a dilapidated state and at risk of collapse, so it was not safe for the firefighters to enter directly. The team went through a neighbouring wada, climbed up with a ladder and sprayed water on the flames.

The firefighters did not let the fire spread to adjoining buildings and brought it under control in about 30 minutes.

According to local residents, a burning firecracker probably fell inside the wada and caused the fire. No one was in the building at the time. No one is reported to have died or been injured, but the building suffered heavy damage.

Fire brigade officers Sanjay Ramteke and Prashant Gaikar and about 20 firefighters from the headquarters took part in the operation with four fire engines. The police, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), the Pune Municipal Corporation's building demolition department and local residents also helped.