Orion Business Park blaze: A battle of 10 hours by 90 brave firefighters
A massive fire at Thane's Orion Business Park damaged almost 90% of the commercial building and destroyed 21 office units, three four-wheelers, and 23 two-wheelers. The fire was controlled after a 10-hour-long, multi-agency operation involving 90 firefighters. No casualties were reported as the offices operating out of the building had closed for the day. A suspected blast in an air-conditioner may have caused the fire, and the building materials stored on the premises helped it spread fast.
Thane: It took 90 firefighters in a 10-hour-long and multi-agency operation to douse a massive fire at Thane’s Orion Business Park, which damaged nearly 90% of the ground-plus five-storey commercial building and destroyed 21 office units, three four-wheelers, and 23 two-wheelers.
Luckily, there were no casualties or injuries as the offices operating out of the building had closed for the day and the staff had exited the premises minutes before the blaze was reported in a parking lot at 8 pm on Tuesday.
Siddharth Gaikwad, in-charge of Orion Business Park, alleged that a team of Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) regional disaster management cell (RDMC) arrived at least an hour late and by that time, the fire had already spread to the second floor.
The offices usually shut by 7 pm or 7.30 pm and people leave the compound before 8 pm, Gaikwad said. “I too had left for home, but as soon as I came to know about the fire, I reached there in minutes. By then the nearest fire station had been alerted. However, the firefighters landed by 9 pm and started the operation with basic watering techniques which I felt was not sufficient to control the blaze,” he said. “If they had reached a few minutes earlier, the damage could have been contained.”
RDMC officials refuted the charges, saying they received information from Balkum fire station at 8.37 pm, and a team was at the scene within 15 minutes.
“We immediately mobilised a team along with seven fire tenders and other vehicles. There was traffic congestion near Kapurbawdi petrol pump. So, we took Pokhran-Tulsiram road to reach the spot. Later, we sent more personnel, and the final count was 60,” Avinash Sawant, chief of RDMC, said. “No one was stuck inside the building.”
The park’s maintenance manager suspected that the fire was caused by a blast in an air-conditioner, Sawant said. “However, we are yet to ascertain the cause. Preliminary enquiry found that the blaze erupted at the parking lot and later spread to upper floors and then to the façade of the building. By 11.30 pm, it was uncontrollable, so we requested other civic bodies to help us with manpower and equipment.”
Sawant claimed that building materials stored on the premises helped the fire spread fast. “There was a firefighting system in the building, but I doubt if it functioned because it must have lied unused for months. We will check this part too while preparing a report.”
The Thane civic body pressed into service seven fire tenders, two rescue vans, eight water tankers, three jumbo water tankers, one Branto, six jeeps, one bullet vehicle, four private water tankers, one pick-up vehicle, and one excavator.
Later, other civic bodies joined the operation with manpower and machinery. One water bowser and one water tanker from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, one water tanker, one water bowser and one fire engine from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, one fire vehicle from the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, two fire engines from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, one water bowser from the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation, and two fire vehicles from the ministry of defence were also involved in the exercise.
A video of the incident went viral on social media within minutes.
Nimesh Jain, 37, who lives near the business park, said it was scary as sparks of flames could be seen flying out of the building while windowpanes shattered. “The entire area was covered with thick smoke. The traffic jam caused by the ongoing metro line 4 work added to the trouble.”
Apart from the vehicles, at least 21 office units dealing in real estate, transport services, logistics, and aluminium frame works were reduced to ashes. The blaze also spread to the nearby Cine Wonder Mall, but those who were inside rushed out on time.
“It is obviously a loss for us as the entire business was run from this place. Now, we will have to start from scratch. Fortunately, there is no human life lost. We do have insurance and will claim it after all paperwork is done,” one of the office owners at Orion Business Park, who did not wish to be named, said.
On Wednesday, the park was shut as the cooling process continued throughout the day and the mall also remained closed. There are around 80 to 90 offices located on the upper floors of the park while the ground floor houses electronics shops.
