An extremely rare and unprecedented event occurred in Udvada 80 years ago. A three-storey building belonging to a Parsi priest in the locality where families of Parsi priests resided caught fire.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown but it is likely that it was not accidental. The role of a mischief maker was suspected. Near the basement of the building were stocked kerosene cans belonging to the owner of a provision store. The kerosene caused the flames to flare up and reach the third floor of the building in a matter of minutes. The danger lay in the fact that the buildings in the area were very close to each other. The Iranshah Atash Behram was located less than half a kilometer to the north and the fishermen’s locality, with huts highly vulnerable to fire, half a kilometer to the south.
Calling the fire brigade from Bulsar 16 kms away seemed futile given the rapidly spreading flames. The fishermen, realizing the danger to their own homes, came to the rescue. Along with other youngsters they formed queues extending from the wells to the building on fire, passing countless buckets of water until the flames were doused.
Mercifully, the Iranshah was spared.
Dr V. M. MEHER-HOMJI
vispymeherhomji@gmail.com