A fire broke out at a highrise building, opposite Allen Park at Park Street today, around 10.30 am.
This building, named Park Centre, is located at 1/1 Camac Street, right at the junction of Park Street and Camac Street. The fire started on the top floor of Park Centre, which housed a nightclub and restaurant. Due to the presence of various flammable materials inside the restaurant, the fire quickly spread, engulfing the area in black smoke.
Police reported that no one was injured in this incident. Those trapped inside were safely evacuated. Initially five fire engines arrived at the scene shortly after the incident occurred during the busy Tuesday morning. As the fire couldn’t be controlled immediately, more engines were pressed into service, and finally, after about two hours of struggle, 15 fire engines managed to bring the fire under control by 12.30pm.
Fire minister Sujit Bose also arrived at the scene, speaking with the police and fire brigade officials in charge of controlling the fire, as well as with the local residents. Initial reports indicated that the fire in the restaurant spread quickly due to the temporary asbestos roof and various flammable materials. In addition to these materials, there were also gas cylinders inside the restaurant. The fire brigade efficiently removed these cylinders before they could explode, which local residents believe prevented the fire from becoming more catastrophic. The intensity of the fire was so high that the temporary roof of the restaurant began to collapse.
To avoid accidents, the police controlled traffic in the area. Restaurant owner Gaurav Jhunjhunwala informed the police that his restaurant had been closed for several months and was under renovation. Therefore, despite the damages, a major disaster was averted. He expressed his gratitude to the fire brigade, the fire minister and the chief minister for their efforts.
Another restaurant is located on the ground floor of Park Centre, which was not significantly affected by the fire. The owner of this ground-floor restaurant mentioned that a fire had also broken out there a few years ago. Questions are being raised as to why adequate precautions were not taken even after that incident.
State fire Minister Sujit Bose has stated that an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the fire and whether any fire safety regulations were violated. Currently, their primary focus is on extinguishing the fire completely and securing the area. Mr Bose also assured that he was relieved to see that the fire brigade did a good job in quickly bringing the fire under control and confirmed that no one was injured in this incident.
On Tuesday, after the fire broke out, three to four people were trapped inside the restaurant. According to fire brigade sources, these individuals were swiftly evacuated, after which the firefighting efforts commenced in full swing.
Park Centre is surrounded by many high-rise buildings. Among these, the high-rise directly behind Park Centre houses both offices and apartments. The flames nearly reached these buildings, causing the residents, frightened by the smoke, to rush down to the streets. The police evacuated the flats and offices in the dangerous areas as a precaution.