‘Would have been catastrophic if this happened during work hours,' eyewitness on Times Tower fire

A witness recounts how many lives were saved by the early hours of the incident, officials suspect a short circuit in the AC unit on the third floor

Around 6.30 am, staff at a restaurant opposite the Times Tower in Lower Parel's Kamala Mills woke up to the sight of smoke rising from the 15-storey building. As a precaution, employees of various businesses housed in the complex were barred from entering initially.

The tower, home to a news channel, offices, and restaurants, quickly became the centre of firefighting efforts. "I arrived at 7 am, but they wouldn't let me in through Kamala Mills main gate," said Zakir Hussain, a worker at Youunion Mumbai, located across from the tower.

One of Hussain’s co-workers, who resides onsite, confirmed that fire trucks arrived shortly after a security guard at the tower raised the alarm. "There was a rush of fire vehicles within 10 to 15 minutes of the call. The place was empty but it would have been dangerous if this had happened in the middle of the day," he said.

Times Tower in Lower Parel; (right) Witnesses and fire personnel gather outside the Times Tower. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Kamala Mills sees hundreds of visitors daily. A total of eight fire engines were deployed to control the situation. The fire, which broke out on the third floor, quickly spread to the seventh and was classified as a Level 2 blaze. By the time Hussain managed to approach the site, he witnessed glass windows sliding down from the building, shattering on impact. "It was scary," he said. Fire officials were also seen deliberately breaking windows to help release the smoke. 

By 10.30 am, employees of several businesses gathered near the tower, hoping to retrieve their laptops and other belongings, but were denied entry. “No one is injured, there are no casualties. It was earlier in the day so the area was empty and so was the building but it could have been a huge problem if it was during work hours,” said DFO Krishna Yadav. 

Investigation underway

He added that there was a functional inbuilt fire-fighting system in the building. "The fire was in the duct and it didn’t spread much inside the building," he said. 
The building had filed a six-monthly certificate (Form B) to be given by the owner or occupier for compliance with the fire prevention and life safety measures.
The security personnel of Times Tower said there were about four guards when the fire broke out, and all of them could escape with ease. “It will take a day to determine the cause of the fire,” Yadav said. Investigating officer Dattatray Shitole added, "Preliminary findings suggest a short circuit in one of the AC units on the third floor, but the matter is still under investigation. The building consists of a basement, ground floor, and 15 stories."

Fire politics

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackray reached the spot after Friday's incident. “Six years later, here is another fire in the mill compound. I will write to the municipal commissioner to do a fire audit of the entire premises. The audit should be carried out without disturbance to anyone. The administration should also investigate what happened after the previous fire audit: are there additional constructions now or was the fire exit closed…?”

MNS leader Sandip Deshpande said, “There are frequent fires in these buildings. There are many illegal encroachments despite three MLAs in the area. What are they doing? Action has to be taken against those who have illegal constructions.”

6 am
Time of the incident

Not the first fire

The complex has been a witness to three fire incidents in the past. In 2017, a major fire in 1 Above Pub and Mojo Bistro located at Kamala Mills killed 14 and injured more than 55. The incident raised an alarm over the safety of illegal construction inside mill land. Soon after that, in 2020 there was a fire in the P2 building in Raghuvanshi mill near Kamala Mills which took 23 hours to douse. And, in 2023, there was another incident of fire in the same mills.

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