Gujarat: Smoke continues to billow from Surat textile store 36 hours after massive fire

Surat (Gujarat) [India], February 28 (ANI): Smoke continued to rise from a textile store in Surat's Shiv Shakti market on Thursday night, more than 36 hours after a massive fire broke out there.
Firefighters remained on-site, continuing their efforts even over a day after the initial incident.

Surat Chief Fire Officer Basantkumar Pareek said, "The fire has been completely extinguished after almost 36 hours. Water is being sprinkled wherever there is smoke to ensure that the fire doesn't re-ignite. Fire personnel are working on all floors. We faced a little problem as there was synthetic material here, and the shutters were locked. The fire has been completely brought under control. After a structural audit is done and its report is submitted, permission would be granted for this market to operate again."
He further added that there are approximately 850 shops in the market, and firefighting efforts are expected to continue until morning.
"It takes time to cut locks with a gas cutter and then sprinkle water. Due to temperature, the plaster has fallen apart, but there are no cracks," he added.
The blaze, which began on Wednesday morning, prompted authorities to respond swiftly as they worked to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bhagirath Gadhavi said that the area was cordoned off while teams were engaged in controlling the fire.
"Fire brigade teams are engaged in extinguishing the fire in the Shiv Shakti cloth market. The entire area has been cordoned off; the Police have evacuated the entire area. Police have also been deployed on a large scale. Work is being done to ensure that there is no traffic in the surrounding areas. All teams are deployed here. There are other shops here, so the Police are present here to ensure their safety. There are 800 shops in Shiv Shakti market, all shops are closed, shops in the surrounding markets have also been closed," DCP Gadhavi told ANI.
Earlier, Chief Fire Officer Vasant Parekh told ANI that the fire spread from the basement to the first, second and third floors.
"A few of the fire brigade personnel were stuck, but they have been evacuated. 15 teams are there. There has been no casualty," he added. (ANI)