It began on the first floor of the three-storey structure and spread to another wing, housing Cafe Mondegar. Firefighters, aided by Navy personnel, worked on dousing the flames for 5 hours
A massive fire broke out in the century-old three-storey Metro House near Regal Cinema in Colaba, a residential and commercial locality, around 4.30 pm yesterday, gutting 50% of the structure.
Firefighters douse the blaze in the 100-year-old Metro House in Colaba yesterday with the help of 16 fire tenders and 12 water tankers
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Firefighters, with the help of 16 fire engines and 12 water tankers, worked on dousing the flames till 9.15 pm. Plumes of pitch black smoke could be sighted from afar for hours. No injuries were reported, said a BMC official. A major part of the building’s stairway collapsed.
The Taj Mahal hotel is in the background. Pics/Prabhanjan Dhanu
Although the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, sources said a short in the power circuit is suspected to have led to it.
The building houses Venus Lodge on the first floor, as well as Café Mondegar and McDonalds in separate wings. Locals said they heard an explosion at the lodge, diagonally opposite Café Mondegar, following which a fire broke out. Neither of the wings’ ground floors were affected.
No match for the blaze
Although fire tenders were brought in within 15 minutes, the blaze, fanned by winds quickly spread to the third floor, the terrace and the back as well as east — to the third floor of the neighbouring wing. Newly-laid tar on the terrace helped the fire spread. McDonalds on the first floor as well as the second floor of the eastern wing escaped the fury.
When the firefighters realised that their engines were no match for the monstrous blaze, skylift equipment were called in. This slowdown, however, ate into 15 minutes of the rescue operations. The skylift trucks, too, were useless as the water pressure from hydrants wasn’t high enough to douse the flames. It was at this time that the fire spread to the next wing. The branches of two trees had to be cut down to open up access for fire hoses.
While the operations were underway, BMC officials asked the control room for more water. Sources said they had to wait for 15-20 minutes for more water tankers, which were refilled at Azad Maidan and Worli.
Around 6.30 pm, the Navy’s help in dousing the fire was sought. Sources in the Navy said they arranged for water from their dockyard through four vehicles and also sent personnel.
Chief Fire Officer P Rahangdale said initially, there were “technical problems” with firefighting, but they were resolved. “Also, water tankers got stuck in traffic, which delayed the operations.”
During the firefighting operations, traffic was diverted and the entry of vehicles ahead of Regal Cinema signal was barred. People from all nearby buildings were evacuated.
— Inputs by Shashank Rao, Neha Tripathi, Varun Singh, Rupsa Chakraborty and Shikha Vatsala
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