Mumbai: 2 security guard rescued after fire breaks out in basement of five-storey building

A major fire broke out in the basement of a five-storey building in Mumbai shortly after midnight on Thursday, civic officials said.

There was no report of any casualty so far in the blaze which erupted at around 12.15 am in the building located in an industrial area at SEEPZ (a special economic zone) in suburban Andheri, they said.

Two security guards were stranded on the building’s second floor due to heavy smoke, but they were safely rescued by firemen using the angus ladder, a civic official said.

At least 12 fire engines, eight water jetties, tankers and other fire brigade equipment were rushed to the spot and efforts were on to douse the blaze, officials said.

The fire was confined to cardboard stocks in different compartments, other stored materials in a part of the basement measuring around 2,000-3,000 square feet area of the building, an official said. Efforts were still on to put out the blaze, he said, adding that five small hose lines of 12 motor pumps were in operation.

The firemen, donning breathing apparatus, were also trying to break the flooring of the ground floor with various rescue tools to make an entry into the basement to douse the blaze, he said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.