Pune: Massive fire at Fashion Street guts over 500 shops
In a tragic incident, a massive fire broke out at the Fashion Street market area of Maharashtra's Pune late on Friday night, burning down over 500 shops to ashes. As many as 16 fire tenders and water tankers were rushed to the area to extinguish the fire. However, the situation was brought under control after four hours, according to officials. Here are more details.
No casualties so far; shop owners report heavy losses
While there have been no reports of casualties in the fire accident so far, Prashant Ranpise, the Chief Fire Officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, said that heavy damages and losses have been reported by the shop owners and hawkers in the area. The cause of the fire, however, is yet to be ascertained, said reports.
Firefighters doused the fire in an operation lasting four hours
According to officials, a call for help was received at around 9:30pm from Pune's Cantonment area where Fashion Street is located. The fire brigade couldn't reportedly reach the spot easily because of the congestion on the road leading to the market. Fifty firefighters and 10 other officials doused the blaze in an operation lasting four hours and the situation was under control by 1:10am.
'Fire safety at Fashion Street has always been a concern'
Amit Kumar, the CEO of the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), said that the entire Fashion Street was burnt to ashes because of the sudden fire on Friday night. "It is an unfortunate incident which happened back to back after the Shivaji Market incident. The issue of fire safety at Fashion Street has always been a cause of concern before the administration," he added.
Here are a few latest visuals from the incident
Second major fire incident in Cantonment area this month
Notably, Fashion Street on MG Road in the Cantonment area is a popular shopping destination where a large number of small outlets sell clothes, shoes, and fashion accessories, among other things. The latest fire accident is the second such incident in the Cantonment area this month. On March 16, a major fire had erupted in the crowded Shivaji Market area, destroying about 25 shops.
Pune witnessed three separate fire incidents on Friday alone
Moreover, Pune witnessed as many as three separate fire incidents on Friday alone, according to an Indian Express report. Apart from the Fashion Street incident, a fire erupted at RK Scrap Center in Mahatma Phule Ganj Peth in the early hours of Friday, claiming a 28-year-old worker's life. On Friday evening, a commercial building in Kharadi caught fire, damaging five shops and some offices.
