Major blaze at Mumbai’s Times Tower doused after 5 hours, no injuries reported

The operation to douse the blaze at a commercial building in Mumbai concluded after more than five hours on Friday afternoon, 6 September civic officials said.

There were no reports of any injury to anyone in the fire that broke out at the Times Tower building in the Kamala Mills compound in the Lower Parel area around 6.30 am, they said.

The level 2 (major) fire was confined to an electric duct between the 3rd and 7th floors on the rear side of the 14-storey building with a glass facade, a civic official said.

The fire brigade extinguished the blaze around 11.55 am, more than five hours after they received a call around 6.30 am.

The cooling operation is on at the site.

Firefighters used a “chisel and hammer” to break the locks on the doors and enter the commercial building to battle the fire, the official said.

Eight fire engines and other firefighting vehicles were sent to the spot, an official had said earlier.

The Kamala Mills compound, which has witnessed many major fires, is next to the Parkside residential building.

Parkside residents said it was a “terrifying experience” to see plumes of flame and smoke rising close to their homes.

According to the residents, their security staff tried to control the blaze with firefighting equipment from their building before firefighters arrived.

“Our emergency team used our hose pipes before the fire brigade could reach the spot,” claimed one of the residents.