2 hurt in Vile Parle mall blaze; structure had defunct firefighting system, says MFB

A level-4 fire broke out on Friday morning in the three-storeyed Prime Mall at Irla Society Road, Vile Parle (West). One firefighting personnel – Mangesh Dinkar Gaonkar, 54 – sustained minor injuries, while a 20-year-old man – Mubasir Mohammad K – who was rescued from the mall, was admitted to the nearby Cooper hospital.

Chief fire officer Hemant Parab said the in-built firefighting system of the mall was defunct. He added that the exact cause of fire is yet to be ascertained.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management cell, the incident was reported at 10.28am. Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) officials said the fire remained confined between the basement and the first floor of the mall. The fire was doused by 2.58pm.

“The sprinklers were not working, owing to which the flames intensified. We will carry out a thorough investigation on this incident. The management will be given time as per the provisions of the Fire Act to reply, following which necessary action will be initiated,” Parab said.

As per the existing floor plan, there are 350 shops in the mall, most of which sell electronic goods –mobile phones and appliances.

“The shops are located in lower ground floor, first floor and second floor. There used to be a food court on the third floor which is non-operational since a decade as there is no centralised AC system,” said a member of the mall.

“Out of the 350 shops, only 250 were operational. The mall opens after 10.30am, owing to which there were fewer staffers,” said a shop owner, requesting anonymity of name.

“The fire brigade didn’t allow us to go inside owing to which we don’t have any idea about the losses incurred to us. But seeing the intensity of the fire, we are certain that most of the shops in the front side of the mall have been gutted,” said another shop owner.

He said after the Orchid City Centre mall blaze in Mumbai Central that had occurred in October 2020, a fire audit was carried out in Prime Mall.

“During the audit, the firefighting system was functional. Had it not been the case, the mall wouldn’t have been allowed to operate. However, the authorities failed to conduct a proper maintenance, owing to which, the sprinklers became defunct,” Parab said.

According to the shop owners and elected public representatives, this is the third fire incident that took place in this mall in the past six years.

Local corporator Sunita Rajesh Mehta from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said a major fire had broken out at the mall in 2018.

“After the 2018 incident, I had written to BMC administration to carry out a fire audit in all the malls and public places of the Andheri-Juhu area. I have also raised this issue several times during the ward committee meetings,” Mehta said.

There are 240 registered members in the mall and an elected body of these representatives form a management committee, headed by a chairperson, which is responsible for the administration of the establishment.

According to the assessment and collection department of the local ward office – K-West – the administration owed ₹8.97 crore in property taxes, including penalties, since 2012 to BMC.

“Earlier, the outstanding balance was higher. We had collected ₹4.5 crore, and owing to HC’s restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we couldn’t seal the property,” said a ward official.

When HT contacted the chairperson of the management committee, he refrained from commenting. However, a BMC official as well as a member of the mall, confirmed that the mall owed BMC the property tax amount. HT also has receipts of the outstanding property tax in its possession. The member said the operational certificate was issued to the mall in 2009-10.