20210925 Mumbai: Khar villa fire may have begun in electrical duct on first floor
India Sep 25 2021 “Building” “Office bldg.”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Mumbai: Khar villa fire may have begun in electrical duct on first floor
Updated: 2021-09-25
A woman died in the blaze
MUMBAI: The fire brigade, investigating the blaze at a jeweller’s villa in Khar on Thursday evening, said it began in the electrical duct on the first floor of the lobby area and travelled upwards. Two persons who were rescued and one who passed away were on the seventh floor when the fire broke out. The two were rescued, but a woman died of suffocation.
Fire brigade said prima facie the deceased tried to escape downwards instead of exiting from a window, from where the two women, including her daughter, were rescued by fire brigade teams. The fire brigade used turntable ladders and rescued a 10-yearold and a 45-year-old lady through the windows.
Officials said they were investigating if any exit doors to the balcony got accidentally locked, leading the deceased to panic and run downwards. The fire brigade will serve a notice to the Khar building as its firefighting system was not functioning. Chief fire officer Hemant Parab, who confirmed that a notice will be served, said, “It was a low-rise structure and the cause of fire is under investigation. The fire started in the electrical duct in the common area on the first floor, and travelled upwards,” said Parab.
As per fire brigade rules, when firefighting systems on the premises are not functioning, they serves a notice under section 6 of Maharashtra Fire Prevention & Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, which states that it is the owners’ or occupiers’ liability to provide fire prevention and life safety measures.
The blaze, which started at 6.58pm, was extinguished after four hours at 11.08pm.
Assistant municipal commissioner (H west ward) Vinayak Vispute said ward-level engineers were monitoring rescue operations. “The fire brigade and police will now undertake further action,” said Vispute.
One family occupies the entire structure. The fire brigade said around 50 were trapped inside the structure but many were on lower floors and probably alerted to the fire sooner and were able to exit using the staircase.
Residents said there was chaos in the area, with fire brigade vehicles and ambulances moving around. “Fire-fighting operations went on for several hours, with officers in breathing apparatus moving in and out,” said a resident.
Web Source: The Times of India