Major fire

CAUSE NOT KNOWN

ULHASNAGAR : A fire broke out in the basement of a six-storey bag manufacturing factory near Shreeram talkies in Ulhasnagar on Friday.

No one was injured in the incident. The company, Priya Bag House, was shut on the occasion of Mahashivratri.

The building is near the railway track.

Around 11.30am, passers-by saw smoke billowing from the basement of the building.

“The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. All materials have been charred,” said Bhaskar Mirpagar, chief fire officer of Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC).

As soon as the fire broke out, three fire tenders from Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) reached the spot and started firefighting operations.

As the fire kept spreading, six fire tenders from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council (KBMC) and Ambernath Municipal Council (AMC) was pressed into service. The blaze was doused by 2pm. Residents said the smoke reached the nearby railway line between Ulhasnagar-Vitthalwadi railway stations and halted train services for a while.

“Smoke filled the railway line and trains passing by were halted for few minutes,” said Sanjay Mhatre, 38, a resident.

However,theCentralRailway officials denied there was any disruption on the route. “There was smoke around the track but it did not affect train services,” said a Central Railway official.

The road leading to the company was shut, leading to traffic congestion till afternoon. A traffic police officer on duty said,“The road leading to the temple is crowded onMahashivratri every year. After the fire broke out, we had to close the entire road along the company for safety reasons. The road was opened only after 3pm.”