Fire breaks out in Mumbai suburban residential building

Mumbai: A fire broke out in an 11-storey residential building in Mumbai's western suburb of Andheri on Friday, though no loss of life has been reported so far.

According to fire brigade officials, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of Godavari building in suburban Versova, adjacent to the Versova telephone exchange. "We got a call around 4 PM that a fire has broken out in a commercial building adjacent to the Versova telephone exchange. Four fire tenders, four water tankers were rushed to the spot and we have termed the fire as 'Grade 1 fire'," a fire brigade official told PTI.

He said though the fire has not been completely doused as yet, it has been brought under control. "As per initial reports, the fire brigade officials have managed to safely evacuate the people who were stuck on the top and bottom floors of the building and no injuries or casualties have been reported as of now," an Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) official said. He added that the exact reason behind the fire incident is not known yet and that there will be a "thorough probe" into the cause once situation normalises.

In the wake of the death of a fireman in a recent fire incident in a suburban high-rise earlier this month, MCGM officials had said that it will be ensured that fire safety audits of all multi storeyed buildings in Mumbai be completed in a month's time. The MCGM had also said that precautions will be taken and safety checks will be conducted periodically to ensure that innocent lives are not lost to fire mishaps.