20230318 Secunderabad building fire: Locked fire exit & blocked Swapnalok stairs killed
India Mar 18 2023 “Complex bldg.”
Dead : dead 5 to 9 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Secunderabad building fire: Locked fire exit & blocked Swapnalok stairs killed 6
Updated: 2023-03-18
HYDERABAD: If basic fire safety measures had been in place, six young lives would not have been snuffed out in the Swapnalok Complex fire on Thursday. A day after the tragedy, senior fire department officials, who completed the inspection of the multi-storeyed building, said that one of the main reasons for the death of six people was a locked door to the fire exit staircase next to the victims’ office.Director general of disaster response and fire services department Y Nagi Reddy said: “The staircase was blocked with garbage and the door to the staircase was locked.”
Nagi Reddy along with senior fire services officials inspected the fire-ravaged building early on Friday. After confirming that no one else was trapped in the building, Nagi Reddy said the fire exit staircase located next to the victims’ office was inaccessible when the inferno raged across the floors. Another fire department official said that not only the fire exit but also the corridors were cluttered with cartons and boxes.
“Even if the fire exit had not been locked, the victims would not have managed to escape as the stairs were blocked with cartons and heaps of garbage,” said a firefighter.
P rakash Reddy, director, directorate of enforcement vigilance and disaster management of Greater Hyderabad Municipl Corporation, said the locked fire exit might have left no choice for the victims once thick smoke engulfed the floor.
“We rescued 12 people in the first attempt and in the next go pulled out eight others. But six of them who locked themselves in a washroom of their office could not make it out alive,” Prakash Reddy said.
Both the officials confirmed that the multi-storied building had all the fire safety apparatus in place but they were not in a working condition. The building has wet riser, down-comer, hose, sprinklers, underground water tank and proper setbacks.
“The fire safety systems are all in place but they are not in working condition. Water was available and pumps were also there but they were not working and did not operate at the time of the fire,” Nagi Reddy said.
After visiting the Swapnalok Complex on Friday, minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said the building will be sealed, while fire department officials said that GHMC authorities will take a call on that. As of now, the building is out of bounds for both shopkeepers and visitors.
Web Source: The Times of India