A fireman tries to evade an iron bar (circled) jutting out of an illegal shop in front of Treasure Island. (Sanat Kr Sinha)

A fire broke out on Tuesday at Treasure Island, the popular shopping plaza tucked away in a cul-de-sac off Lindsay Street, but the bigger scare was triggered by hawkers blocking the path of fire engines.

Around 1,000 visitors, mostly Id shoppers, and 100-odd shopkeepers were in the plaza when the first flames were detected in shop number 120 (Pretty Lady) on the first floor of the three-storey building at 11.30am. A fire brigade team arrived within five minutes, only to run into rows of illegal shops standing cheek-by-jowl on either side of the twin lanes converging on Treasure Island.

Two fire engines stood less than 100 metres from the building even as the flames spread, forcing the anxious shop owners to do the firefighting themselves. By the time a smaller engine arrived, the fire had been doused.

“We had enough extinguishers to kill the flames, but what if the fire was bigger? The encroachers didn’t let the big fire engines enter the lane, which is scary,” said Lalit Sharma, the owner of Maharaja on the first floor.

Metro had highlighted the hazards of hawkers being allowed to set up shop in the lanes of Treasure Island on July 28. The 18ft-wide Madge Lane has been taken over by hawkers selling saris, dress materials and junk jewellery.

The lane off Lindsay Street is a 15ft-wide one dotted with vendors selling everything from jhalmuri to chow mein. The space isn’t enough for even a two-wheeler to pass without grazing someone. The smaller fire engine that reached Treasure Island through Madge Lane had a damaged cabin door, flashlight and hooter to show for its troubles.

News of the disaster that could have been — a short-circuit was the suspected cause — didn’t deter shoppers from crowding Treasure Island later in the day. The footfall was over 15,000 between 3pm and 9pm, a shop owner said.