Fire at labour huts in Mira Road, short circuit triggers gas cylinder blasts

Around 40-45 firefighters helped extinguish the blaze

A short circuit led to a major fire that broke out in tin-sheet huts built for workers in Mira Road on Thursday afternoon. The fire spread rapidly and caused around six gas cylinders to explode. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.

The fire occurred between 12 and 12.30 pm at an under-construction plot in the Sheetal Nagar area of Mira Road. Around 50 to 60 labourers were present in the huts at the time of the incident.The labourers initially tried to extinguish the fire themselves, but it soon got out of control.

Smoke engulfs the area around the tin sheet hutments. Pics/Hanif Patel

A police officer said, "Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. The fire brigade reached the spot in time and managed to extinguish the fire. Most of the labourers were working at the construction site during the incident. Around 10 huts were completely burned."

Speaking to mid-day, Chief Fire Officer Prakash Borade of Mira-Bhayandar said, "After receiving information about the fire, we dispatched around eight fire engines, one water tanker, and 40 to 45 fire fighters to the spot.

We also sent teams from Penkar Pada, Silver Park, Kankaiya Park, and Bhayandar West to help extinguish the fire. It took around 20 to 25 minutes to bring the fire under control. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Preliminary investigation suggests the fire started due to a short circuit and later spread through the huts."