Thane: 25 godowns stocked with plastic, rubber gutted, none hurt
A fire destroyed at least 25 godowns, where plastic and rubber material were stored, at a village in Thane, Maharashtra, in the wee hours today. No casualty was reported in the mishap, Thane civic body's regional disaster management cell chief Santosh Kadam said. The fire broke out around 4 am following an explosion in an oxy-acetylene cylinder in one of the godowns. Details here.
Godowns had stored plastic, rubber material without proper permits
The incident started in one of the godowns located in Dahisar-Mori locality of Uttarshiv village, and spread rapidly to other warehouses in the vicinity, Taloja MIDC fire station officer Deepak Dorugade said. Five fire engines from Taloja, Panvel and Navi Mumbai areas managed to bring the flames under control after about four hours. The godowns had stored the plastic, rubber material without proper permits.
Closely located godowns restrict access of firemen in emergency: Dorugade
Around 2,000 godowns, mostly having tin sheds, are located next to each other in Uttarshiv and other neighboring villages, restricting access of firemen in case of an emergency, said Dorugade. Stating the difficulties, he further said, "The godown owners also do not reveal the exact material stored in the warehouses, making it difficult for firefighters to put out the blaze."
Owners fail to pay for emergency services, says Dorugade
After the cylinder explosion, firemen from Navi Mumbai's CIDCO area reached the spot first and started the operation to douse the flames, averting a major tragedy. Dorugade said godown owners generally don't co-operate with the firemen and fail to make payments for emergency services.
