Huge fire in Colaba Causeway building

The fire that broke out at the four-storey Metro House located near Regal Cinema, Colaba Causeway, in Mumbai. (Photo: Shripad Naik)

A massive fire gutted the fourth floor of the four-storey Metro House building located on Colaba Causeway, a crowded commercial street, during the peak hours Thursday evening.

No casualties or injuries were reported. As the fire occurred on the topmost floor, the building could be immediately evacuated.

The fire brigade received a call around 4 pm on Thursday and immediately dispatched five fire engines to the spot.

Within half an hour, the situation worsened and an additional seven fire engines had to be rushed to the spot. By 5 pm, a total of 18 fire engines, four water tankers, five private water tankers, and eight ambulances were present at the spot trying to douse the fire.

The fire started in the right wing of the building. It took the fire brigade almost three hours to control it. However, it later spread to the left wing of the Metro House as well.

Assistant municipal commissioner of the A ward Kiran Dighavkar, said, “We were lucky the fire hydrant right under the building was functional. Thus, we were able to reduce the response time and prevent damage to human life.”

Mr Dighavkar said the fire spread to the left wing of the building after 6 pm.

“This happened because the ward’s water supply to the hydrant stopped, as is procedural. There was half an hour window where water supply was low and the fire spread quickly. The ward office had to get permissions from the headquarters to start the water supply again,” he said.

P. Rahangdale, chief fire officer (CFO), confirmed that the building was in an extremely precarious condition. “The fire brigade managed to restrict the fire to the fourth floor of the building. The main staircase of the building collapsed and the fourth floor was completely destroyed. As the building is old and in a precarious condition, we had to be extra cautious,” he said.

Mr Rahangdale, however, said that though there were problems with water resources, all the critical water jets were operational within the building.

“The fire fighting was not stopped at any point of time or else the nearby buildings would also have caught fire. Nearly, 70 per cent of the building remained unaffected,” he said.

A senior police official who did not wish to be named said, “As this is a tourist area and the Gateway of India and Hotel Taj Palace are nearby, a large crowd had gathered at the site. It was difficult to keep them away. We were afraid a law and order situation may arise or the people flocking to the spot may get injured.” The police had to later cordon off the entire Causeway street to bring the situation under control.

In the aftermath of the fire, Mr Dighavkar said that all hawkers lining the street would be barred from doing business, until structural audits of all buildings on the Colaba Causeway are completed.

Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta who was also present at the spot said, “I am awaiting the report on the cause of fire. A structural audit of the building will help us decide the future course of action.”

A worker in a cyber cafe housed in the building (who did not wish his shop's name or his name to be disclosed) said, “Since 3.30 pm, a foul odour had filled the building. It smelled like something was burning but we ignored it. Then half an hour later we heard people shouting and saw them running out on the street. We vacated the shop immediately and ran out.”