Bandra restaurant gutted in fire

A fire at Miya Kebabs in Bandra West was quickly contained by firefighters, preventing major damage or injuries. Cause under investigation.

Mumbai: Timely intervention by the fire brigade helped avert a major disaster at Ranwar village in Bandra West in the early hours on Monday. A fire broke out at a popular restaurant in the area around an hour after midnight, but it was doused before it could spread to neighbouring buildings, said fire brigade officials. No casualties were reported in the incident.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and early reports indicate it may have been caused by a short circuit or malfunctioning kitchen equipment. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

At around 1.20am on Monday, the fire brigade received the first emergency call saying a fire had erupted at the Miya Kebabs restaurant in Belle building, triggering panic in the area. Fire tenders reached the spot within 13 minutes and doused the fire in another five minutes.

“The electric wiring, tarpaulin sheet and bamboo structures in kitchen caught fire first. By the time we reached the spot at 1.33am, the AC units were also ablaze,” a fire brigade official told HT.

Four fire tenders were pressed into service and the fire was doused easily using a pressure line. “The fire wasn’t very severe and we managed to douse it by 1.38am,” the fire official noted.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and early reports indicate it may have been caused by a short circuit or malfunctioning kitchen equipment. Though no casualties were reported due to the fire, the restaurant sustained extensive damage and its furniture was completely gutted.

Residents in the area, who had recently complained to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Bhushan Gagrani about safety concerns around a Japanese restaurant in the neighbourhood, were relieved by the swift containment of the blaze. This was more so because Bandra is a bustling neighborhood with many restaurants and residential buildings in close proximity.