Mumbai: The city recorded a severe Level 4 fire call in the early hours of Tuesday as the two-decade-old Link Square Mall on Bandra West’s Linking Road—which had 220 shops, including an electronics showroom, and two eateries—went up in flames. There were no casualties.
Preliminary information stated the blaze started in the basement where Croma, the electronics showroom, was located and flared right up till the terrace where two popular eating joints were located.
Bandra West MLA and cabinet minister Ashish Shelar said he has spoken with the BMC commissioner and asked him to institute a comprehensive inquiry under the special authority of the additional commissioner to look into the cause of the fire, the extent of damage incurred and any structural or procedural lapses.
The mall, built by the slain former Bandra West MLA and minister Baba Siddique, saw his son Zeeshan Siddique at the site, constantly pushing firefighters to speed up the operations to limit the damage.
Zeeshan Siddique said Croma, located on the first level of the basement and where the fire likely originated, were their tenants. “My father also had an office in the mall premises. The fire spread due to the fire brigade’s negligence. We’ve been at the site since 4am. Initially, there was just a small spark in the basement of the Croma showroom. We repeatedly requested more water tankers, but they lacked the necessary equipment. The rear section of the mall was still intact, and we urged them to direct water there—but they couldn’t,” he said.
The fire brigade, though, said there was no truth to these accusations and there were at least 15 fire engines, two robots, and seven jumbo water tankers at the site. While primary information suggests sprinklers had been installed in the mall, they did not work.
A senior fire brigade official said the blaze likely started well before it was reported. “The ventilation in the basement area is always very poor. Also, being a glass facade building, until the glass is broken, smoke cannot escape. Since everything was locked up at night, it’s highly probable the fire went unnoticed at first. It was only when flames began erupting from the upper floors that locals spotted it and alerted the fire brigade. The mall housed a large amount of combustible material—clothing, footwear, electronics—which caused the fire to spread rapidly. Late-night fires are particularly challenging to contain due to the lack of daylight, which hampers efforts to identify the exact source of the fire and extinguish it efficiently,” the official said.
“Six firemen initially got trapped after entering the mall. Since the fire was in the basement, it was extremely difficult to enter from the ground level,” said a fire official.
The incident was first reported to the Mumbai fire brigade around 3.58am. Officials said it was initially classified as a Level I blaze but rapidly escalated to Level IV—a major emergency—by 6:25am. The National Disaster Response Force was also mobilised on the fire brigade’s request. The NDRF team reached the site at 7:50am. The blaze was covered from all sides more than 12 hours later at 5.20pm. At the time of going to press, it was yet to be fully extinguised though, said the BMC.
Residents of a neighbouring building were vacated as a precautionary measure. They went back in when firefighters assured them it was safe.
As expected, a large quantity of electronic items was stored in the showroom. The mall also housed footwear and clothing outlets. Some shopkeepers were seen removing what remained of their belongings.
Dinesh Pallewad, assistant municipal commissioner of H-West Ward, said entry to the premises will be restricted until the entire structure cools down. “Once entry is given into the premises, panchnama will be done. The firefighting system did not activate in the mall automatically when the blaze started, and hence flames may have spread,” he said.