THANE: A security guard and a fire brigade officer died, while three other firefighters sustained severe burn injuries in a massive blaze that erupted at the Gaondevi municipal market in Thane West in the early hours of Thursday.Thane, India - May -21 2026: A massive fire broke out early this morning at the Gavdevi vegetable market located on Gokhale Road in the Naupada area of Thane city. The incident occurred around 3:43 am, resulting in the death of two people. In this tragic fire, Thane Municipal Corporation security guard Kalu Shankar Gadekar (53) and fire brigade station officer Sagar Shinde (43) died due to suffocation caused by heavy smoke. Two other fire personnel were injured while trying to control the blaze and are currently undergoing treatment at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa. According to preliminary information, the fire spread rapidly due to the presence of a large quantity of clothes, plastic materials, and other inflammable items inside the Gavdevi market. Several shops, stalls, and warehouses were completely gutted, causing huge financial losses to traders. A short circuit is suspected to be the primary cause of the fire ,in Thane ,in Mumbai, India, on, Thursday, May -21, 2026. ( photo by Praful Gangurde / Hindustan Times ) (praful Gangurde)The fire broke out due to a short circuit around 3.40am and spread across more than 150 shops in the market, gutting them completely, according to Yasin Tadvi, head of Thane’s Regional Disaster Management Cell. The market operates on the ground floor of a two-storey building that also houses local municipal ward offices, which suffered extensive damage.The deceased, both municipal employees, have been identified as Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53, a security guard posted at the Naupada ward committee office on the second floor of the building, and Sagar Shinde, 43, an officer with the Thane fire brigade.Gadekar, who was on duty at the time, got trapped on the second floor and began suffocating. After the fire brigade reached the spot, Shinde went in to rescue him, but also got trapped. “Both died due to smoke inhalation,” said Tadvi.Three other firefighters—Sujit Pashte, 45; Sameer Jadhav, 40; and trainee Harsh Dhumal, 19—also suffered smoke inhalation and burn injuries and were admitted to a hospital. The blaze was brought under control by 11.30 am with the help of five fire engines, three jumbo water tankers and several private water tankers, officials said.Lack of fire safety measuresThe incident has sparked anger among stall owners, who alleged that no fire safety measures had been installed in the market, which housed more than 150 shops selling garments, footwear, crockery and vegetables. There are also allegations that Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) officials failed to act despite repeated complaints.Sonu Verma, whose family has operated a readymade garments stall in the market for three generations, said, “I have lost garments worth over ₹5 lakh in the fire. Despite the market being so large, no fire safety measures were installed, leading to the massive blaze. We demand that the government compensate us for our losses as they failed to contain the fire.”Shankarlal Devasi, another shop owner, said, “I have suffered losses of over ₹35 lakh in the fire. I had stocked new products worth ₹5 lakh a couple of days ago, as the college season is near and I was anticipating good business. I have lost all hope now. Instead of earning profits, I have been pushed into debt. I don’t have any insurance, so I will have to bear the losses myself.”Sangita Wagule, owner of a footwear shop in the market, said, “We used to assume that since the building also housed TMC offices, it would be safe, but the market didn’t even have a single firefighting piece of equipment inside. As the market was located underneath the sub-registrar and prabhag samiti offices, the TMC should have planned proper fire safety measures. Footwear stock worth over ₹9 lakh has been completely burnt in the fire.”Wagule further alleged that the losses could have been minimised if the two fire engines usually stationed at the nearby Dadoji Konddeo Stadium had been available at the time of the fire. “Fire engines from other stations reached the spot only after 30-45 minutes, by which time the damage was already done,” she said.BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar has demanded the suspension of the Thane assistant municipal commissioner for allegedly neglecting fire safety measures despite the premises housing the offices of the sub-registrar and the Naupada ward committee. He also pointed out that although the market was originally reserved for vegetable vendors, several other businesses, including garment and footwear shops, had encroached on the premises.Rahul Pingale, Thane Congress president, said he had raised concerns over the lack of a fire safety certificate and the absence of basic fire safety measures in the market in a letter to the TMC commissioner on January 1, 2025, demanding immediate action. He said he had warned that any fire in the market could lead to large-scale loss of life and stampede-like situations in the premises housing the sub-registrar and prabhag offices.TMC responseFollowing the incident, the TMC said it would initiate fire and structural audits of all markets under its jurisdiction that witness heavy footfall. Municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao also acknowledged that the market was primarily meant for vegetable vendors, but garment, crockery and footwear stalls had also been set up there. These stalls contained highly flammable materials, allowing the fire to spread rapidly after the short circuit, he said.“We have decided to conduct a thorough fire and structural audit of the market, and the work will be completed in two days. We wish to complete the deep cleaning, repair and other works of the market by May 31, and hand over the market to the stall owners by June 1 for operations,” Rao added.Thane mayor Sharmila Pimplolkar has announced immediate compensation of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the two deceased TMC staff. One member of each family will also be provided a job in the civic body.Responding to allegations that relocating the fire station from Dadoji Konddeo Stadium, around 1.5km from the market, to Jawahar Baug, which is 4 km away, delayed the response time, Rao said an internal audit found that the firefighting team had reached the scene on time. However, he added that the TMC has now decided to permanently station two fire engines at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium from Friday.