Ruling out short-circuit as the cause of fire, fire officer Pradeep Khedekar told TOI, “We suspect that the fire was caused because of battery overheating during power charging. Only the vehicle’s chassis was found at the spot, while its engine, battery and fibre were completely damaged.”
Dhanesh Oswal, the owner of Devaal Riders e-bike showroom, denied such a possibility and said only a proper investigation would reveal the cause of the fire. “Our showroom is spread over 350sqft and had 16 e-bikes at the time of the incident. Our staffers managed to move nine e-bikes to a safer place,” Oswal said.
He said the cost of the damaged e-bikes, manufactured by a New Delhi-based company, was Rs1 lakh per piece.
“Besides, the showroom furniture and other items were also damaged in the fire,” Oswal said.
The showroom owner said his staffers were attending a customer when flames started emanating from one of the vehicles. “The fire then spread and engulfed six other vehicles. We have requested the vehicle manufacturer to inspect the e-bikes to ascertain the cause of the fire,” Oswal said.
“We initially tried to contact Satish Dhondiba Misal fire station opposite my showroom, but it was not operational. We then contacted fire brigade on its emergency number. They arrived in some time and doused the fire,” he added.
Fire officer Khedekar said, “We initially sent a fire tender from our Kondhwa Budruk fire station. But, the blaze was more intense than our initial information, so we sent two more fire tenders and a water tanker. The firemen gained control over the fire within minutes and doused it completely by 8.45pm.”
