A day after the fire, smoke could be seen billowing from the debris. The fire brigade contained the blaze by 7 pm and started cooling operations. Photo/Nimesh Dave

The fire was reported around 4.45 pm, but the fire brigade faced difficulty to reach the spot due to small lanes and the geography of the area. Officials declared it a level-three fire at 5.15 pm and more fire engines were rushed to the spot. Photo/Nimesh Dave

A police constable, requesting anonymity, told mid-day, “The fire brigade and the police made every effort to prevent the fire from spreading to the forest, or else there would have been a huge loss to the forest cover in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).” Photo/Nimesh Dave

We learnt about the fire when we saw plumes of smoke emanating from the slum pocket below. We also heard cylinders exploding. Thankfully, the fire brigade controlled the fire or else it would have reached our tribal hamlet where more than 900 of us live,” said Shailesh Page, a tribal resident from the tribal hamlet inside SGNP. Photo/Nimesh Dave

Police has put up three big tents on open spaces where residents can stay for a couple of days. It is unclear whether the fire started due to the explosion of cylinders or sparks at a nearby substation or from something else. Photo/Nimesh Dave