Two fires in residential high-rises in Thane on Sunday evening were brought under control by emergency teams, with no casualties reported. Around 50 residents were rescued from a 17-storey building in Wagle Estate, while a separate fire inside a locked flat on the 26th floor of a 40-storey building in Kalwa was extinguished without injuries.
The Kalwa fire was reported at around 8.05 pm in Room No. 2603 of B Wing at Aashar Arize Building in Kharegaon, behind Sahyadri School. According to the fire brigade, the blaze was confined to interior furniture inside the flat, which was locked when the fire was reported.
One fire engine and a rescue vehicle were sent to the building, while teams from the Thane Municipal Corporation’s Disaster Management Cell arrived with a pickup vehicle. The Disaster Response Force and Kalwa police also assisted with the operation. Fire brigade and response personnel brought the fire under control and completely extinguished it by around 8.55 pm.
The second incident occurred at the Carlyle building in the Raheja Garden complex in Wagle Estate. The blaze was reported at around 8.30 pm on Sunday, the day of Diwali, in the 17-storey residential building, which has 28 flats. Officials said the fire spread from the seventh to the 14th floors and through the building’s duct, prompting a large-scale rescue and firefighting operation.
The Thane Municipal Corporation deployed multiple fire tenders, two skylift fire engines, water tankers and ambulances. Firefighters from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also joined the operation. Officials used drones to help locate the source of the fire and identify occupants who may have been trapped on upper floors.
According to Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Thane Municipal Corporation’s Regional Disaster Management Cell, emergency personnel evacuated nearly 50 residents through the building’s terrace and designated refuge areas. The fire was brought under control by around 2.30 am on Monday, after which cooling operations continued. No casualties were reported.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde visited the site to oversee the rescue operation. Thane Lok Sabha member Naresh Mhaske, Thane Municipal Corporation Commissioner Saurabh Rao, Collector Srikrishna Panchal and Mayor Sharmila Pimplolkar also visited the location.
The cause of the Wagle Estate fire is being investigated, according to Tadvi. The two incidents involved separate buildings and emergency responses, but both required authorities to manage fires in high-rise residential settings, where vertical evacuation, refuge areas and access for firefighting equipment are critical to resident safety.
