A fire destroyed a stationery and toy shop, an adjoining warehouse and Diwali stock in Shirur’s Late Aali area on Sunday night, with the preliminary loss estimated at around Rs 60 lakh, according to a report by Sakal. No deaths or injuries were reported in the supplied account.
The shop and warehouse belonged to businessman Ashok Tak and were located near Kadak Wada. Tak and his son Tejas had closed the premises at around 11.30 pm and gone to their nearby home. Neighbours later alerted them after noticing heavy smoke emerging from the warehouse.
When the two reached the premises and opened the door, thick smoke began pouring out. Flames soon spread through the shop and warehouse. Local residents initially tried to control the fire with water, but the blaze intensified and became visible from a distance, causing panic in the surrounding area.
The report said a water tanker operated by Sampat Dasgude reached the spot and attempted to bring the fire under control. The Shirur Municipal Council fire team and a fire tender from the Ranjangaon MIDC fire brigade later joined the operation. Firefighters directed water at the premises from both sides for more than two hours, bringing the blaze under control at around 2 am.
The fire consumed the shop’s cutlery, stationery supplies and toys, along with the goods stored in the warehouse. The warehouse and shop were also extensively damaged. The intensity of the fire reportedly left the warehouse sheets, internal metal staircase and other material severely affected, while smoke continued to emerge from the site until the following afternoon.
The preliminary assessment put the value of the destroyed shop, warehouse and other assets at around Rs 25 lakh. Stock valued at approximately Rs 30 lakh, accumulated for the Diwali season, was also reported to have been destroyed. The combined preliminary estimate was therefore around Rs 60 lakh.
Local residents told Sakal that sparks from fireworks in the sky may have fallen through ventilation openings on the roof of the warehouse and triggered the fire. This account was presented as a local explanation in the report and was not independently confirmed in the supplied material. Police visited the site, inspected the affected area and prepared a panchnama.
The incident also drew a response from Shirur’s municipal representatives and social organisations. Municipal president Aishwarya Pacharne appealed to residents to provide practical assistance to the affected family. She announced personal assistance of Rs 1 lakh, while deputy municipal president Nitin Pacharne contributed Rs 50,000. Municipal committee members and corporators together provided another Rs 1.5 lakh, according to the report.
Tak had reportedly started his business years ago by selling toys from a small handcart before expanding into a shop and later constructing a larger sheet-roofed warehouse to store inventory. The immediate next steps recorded in the report are the police inspection and assessment of the fire-damaged premises.
