Thane market fire kills firefighter, security guard; 2 badly burnt
Synopsis
A fire that started unnoticed at 3:45 am in Thane's Gamdevi Vegetable Market turned fatal — a serving fire brigade Station Officer and a municipal security guard were killed, and two more firefighters hospitalised with severe burns. The delayed detection, caused by the pre-dawn timing, allowed the blaze to engulf the market before residents could raise the alarm.
Key Takeaways
A massive fire broke out at 3:45 am on 21 May at Gamdevi Vegetable Market , Gokhale Road, Naupada, Thane .
Sagar Shinde, 43 , a Station Officer with the Thane Fire Brigade , died in the blaze.
Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53 , a Municipal Corporation security guard, also lost his life.
Two fire brigade personnel — Station Officer Sujit Pashte, 45 , and Tandel Sameer Jadhav, 40 — were hospitalised with severe burn injuries.
Six fire tenders were deployed; cooling and containment operations continued for several hours.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined; an investigation is ongoing.
A massive fire that broke out in the early hours of Thursday, 21 May at the Gamdevi Vegetable Market on Gokhale Road in Thane's Naupada area claimed the lives of a firefighter and a security guard, while two other fire brigade personnel sustained severe burn injuries, officials from the Thane Municipal Corporation confirmed.
How the fire unfolded
The blaze erupted at approximately 3:45 am, when most residents in the locality were asleep, allowing the fire to spread unchecked across the market premises before anyone raised an alarm. The sight of towering flames and thick smoke billowing from the building soon triggered panic among locals, who subsequently alerted the fire department. The market housed not only vegetable stalls but also a number of clothing shops, which likely contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
Casualties and the deceased
Six fire tenders were dispatched to the scene and firefighting operations commenced immediately. Two individuals died in the blaze. The deceased have been identified as Sagar Shinde, 43, who was serving as a Station Officer with the Thane Fire Brigade, and Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53, who worked as a security guard with the Municipal Corporation.
Injured personnel
Two other fire brigade personnel were injured during the operation. They have been identified as Fire Brigade Station Officer Sujit Pashte, 45, and Fire Brigade Tandel (Squad Leader) Sameer Jadhav, 40. Both are currently admitted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment for severe burn injuries, according to officials.
Containment and investigation
Firefighting teams continued cooling and containment operations for several hours to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjoining structures. As of the latest update, authorities had not yet determined the exact cause of the fire. An investigation is underway.
The loss of a serving fire officer underscores the occupational hazards faced by emergency responders, particularly when fires break out in densely packed commercial spaces in the early morning hours when detection is delayed.
Point of View
Which mix perishable goods with clothing and other flammables, are structurally high-risk, yet fire-safety audits in such spaces are rarely enforced consistently. The pre-dawn timing compounded the danger: delayed detection gave the fire a head start that no number of tenders could fully overcome. Maharashtra has seen a pattern of fatal commercial fires where the gap between regulatory compliance on paper and ground reality proves deadly. Until municipal authorities treat fire-safety inspections as non-negotiable rather than periodic exercises, incidents like this will recur.
NationPress
5 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the Thane market fire break out?
The fire broke out at the Gamdevi Vegetable Market on Gokhale Road in the Naupada area of Thane, Maharashtra, on 21 May. The market housed both vegetable stalls and clothing shops.
Who were the people killed in the Thane fire?
The two fatalities were Sagar Shinde, 43, a Station Officer with the Thane Fire Brigade, and Kalu Shankar Gadekar, 53, a security guard employed by the Thane Municipal Corporation.
Who were injured in the Thane market fire?
Fire Brigade Station Officer Sujit Pashte, 45, and Tandel (Squad Leader) Sameer Jadhav, 40, sustained severe burn injuries. Both are being treated at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Thane.
What caused the Thane Gamdevi market fire?
The exact cause of the fire has not yet been established, according to officials. An investigation is currently underway. The blaze began at around 3:45 am, when most residents were asleep, allowing it to spread before being detected.
How many fire tenders were deployed to the Thane market fire?
Six fire tenders were rushed to the Gamdevi Vegetable Market after the fire department was alerted. Firefighting and cooling operations continued for several hours to bring the blaze under control and prevent it from spreading to nearby structures.
