21 August,2026 07:27 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Firefighters and Disaster Management Cell personnel managed to completely extinguish the blaze. Pic/ Special Arrangement
A fire broke out in the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) meter box room at Rajhans Annex Society in Naupada, Thane, on Friday afternoon, triggering heavy smoke and prompting the evacuation of around 135 residents as a precautionary measure.
The incident was reported at around 2:08 pm on Friday, at the ground-floor meter box room of the ground-plus-seven-storey Rajhans Annex Society near Pranav Society, beside Rajmahal Jewellers and opposite Gaondevi Bus Depot in Gaondevi, Naupada, Thane West.
The fire generated a large amount of smoke, following which around 100 residents were moved to a safe location on the ground floor, while another 35 to 40 residents moved to the terrace as a safety precaution.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Naupada police personnel, fire brigade officials, Disaster Management Cell personnel and MSEDCL staff were present at the spot.
The fire brigade responded with one fire tender and one jeep, while the Disaster Management Cell deployed one pickup vehicle.
Firefighters and Disaster Management Cell personnel managed to completely extinguish the blaze.
The fire damaged five meter boxes and the electrical wiring inside the meter box room, which were completely burnt.
A 26-year-old woman, Shivani Patil, who was on the third floor of the building, experienced breathing difficulty after being exposed to the smoke.
Fire brigade personnel and Disaster Management Cell staff safely brought her down to the ground floor. No other injuries were reported.
In a separate incident on Monday, a fire broke out in the basement of Aayakar Bhavan on Maharshi Karve Road in Mumbai.
The incident was reported to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) at around 2.01 pm, following which the brigade declared it a Level-2 fire at 2.45 pm.
Thick plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the building, with smoke spreading to several floors above the basement.
According to an update at 2.19 pm, the fire was confined to the basement of the basement-plus-ground-plus-seven-storey building.
Employees were inside the building when the fire broke out on Monday, triggering urgent rescue and evacuation operations as thick smoke engulfed the upper floors.
The MFB deployed a DFO, ADFO, three Senior Station Officers and two Station Officers, along with three fire engines, one CFF, three jet units, one AWTT, one MWT, one Bavan, one WQRV, one TTL and one ALP.
Police, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) staff, ambulance teams and civic ward personnel were also mobilised to the site.
No injuries have been reported so far. Further details are awaited.
The multi-storey government building serves as a workplace for a large number of Income Tax Department officials and houses various offices and tax authorities.
