Mumbai: A massive fire tore through a designer clothing showroom on Pedder Road early on Monday, marking the fifth major blaze in the city in 10 days. No injuries were reported.
The fire broke out at designer Riyaz Gangji‘s Libas, a high-end fashion store housed in Sukhshanti building. The fire brigade was alerted at 7.06 am.
Gangji pegged the loss at Rs 3 crore. Besides damage to the property, a large stock of designer dresses was destroyed in the blaze.
The fire brigade initially classified it as a level-I fire but upgraded it to level-II by 7:35 am due to its intensity. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire began at the rear of the store.
“Since the blaze occurred early in the morning, the showroom was unoccupied. We will question the staff who shut the store last night. The damage seems to have originated near the electrical distribution unit—possibly linked to an air-conditioning unit that was left on,” a fire official said.
In a swift rescue operation, four men were evacuated from the first floor, while four women, three dogs, and two cats were rescued from the fourth floor. Fire officials said all the rescued were brought safely to the terrace, which was open and accessible.
“It being a very old low-rise building, the building did not have fire-fighting mechanisms. The smoke had logged the entire building and hence we prioritised vacating the structure,” a fire brigade official said.
The BMC said the fire was confined to electrical wiring, installations and a section of garments within the showroom. Dense smoke had spread through the building, triggering an immediate emergency response. Along with fire tenders, teams from BEST, the police and 108 ambulance services were deployed.
Gangji pegged the loss at Rs 3 crore. “We’re insured as a publicly listed company, but much of our inventory—including custom bridal wear slated for delivery—has been destroyed. Bridal outfits carry deep emotional value, and it’s heartbreaking to lose them,” he said.
The women’s section was gutted, while the men’s section suffered water damage as firefighters battled the blaze. The showroom spanned 2,000 sq ft.
Authorities are continuing to assess the damage and are investigating the cause of the fire.
Sukhshanti building on Pedder Road was at the centre of a legal dispute involving unauthorised structural alterations. In 2025, the Bombay high court had found Nishant Mahimtura and Gangji guilty of contempt of court. They had amalgamated two ground-floor flats by removing a partition wall to create a single commercial space for their showroom, violating court orders issued nearly 19 years earlier.
The court also criticised the BMC for its prolonged inaction in enforcing these orders. A BMC official said that a few months ago they had complied with the court order by constructing a wall.