Surat: A massive fire broke out around 7 am today at the multi-storey Raj Textile Market in the Parvat Patia area, causing chaos in the marketplace. The blaze, which reportedly started from lift wiring on the ground floor, quickly spread up to the seventh floor. Over 20 shops were affected, with significant damage to synthetic cloth stocks.

The fire brigade declared a brigade call and deployed 20–22 fire tenders from 15 stations across the city. Firefighters battled the flames for nearly four hours before bringing the situation under control.

Basant Parik, Chief Fire Officer, said, “The call was received at 7:14 am at the fire control room. Fire tenders were immediately dispatched from the three nearest stations, Dumbhal, Dindoli, and Man Darwaja. When the fire officers arrived, they saw dense smoke and flames on the third, fifth, and top floors. Given the intensity of the fire, a brigade call was issued. Around 20 to 22 fire tenders reached the spot.”

He added, “After intense firefighting for about four hours, the fire has been completely brought under control, and cooling operations are underway. It is still not possible to enter the warehouse on the top floor due to the large quantity of material stored inside. Cooling work continues. The fire on the third and fifth floors has been doused. Around 100 to 125 fire officers and personnel are engaged in the operation, and it may take another 1–2 hours to complete.”

As per preliminary details, ground-to-roof wiring facilitated the rapid spread of the fire, while the huge stock of synthetic cloth made containment difficult. The smoke was toxic, forcing firefighters to use oxygen masks during the operation. Power supply to the building was cut as a precautionary measure. DeshGujarat