BARC fire officer faces case for defying Disaster Management

In a possible first in the country, a fire officer is staring at a possible year in jail after the district administration charged that he violated disaster management norms. 

After a massive blast led to a blaze at a chemical factory at Tarapur MIDC on Thursday night, Palghar district collector Prashant Narnaware instructed the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) fire department to rush help to the site. But the fire officers refused to abide, saying the orders had to come from their superiors. 

The fire, which raged till Friday morning, ended up killing three people, and could have been calamitous had it spread to the nearby BARC and Tarapur Atomic Power Station. 

The collector invoked the  Disaster Management Act, 2005, to lodge a first information report against the BARC fire officer, SS Borkar. He said it was evident that the officers had violated the law. 

“They did not adhere to the order from the National Disaster Response Force. We have formed a probe committee. Guilty people will be punished and their licence to run units will be cancelled.”

Inspector Prakash Birajdar of Boisar police, station, where the FIR jas been lodged, said, “The offence is cognisable and non-bailable. The arrest will be made accordingly.”

On Friday, officials at the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) inspected the industrial unit to ascertain the cause of fire. SG Dhawad, DISH joint director (Vasai), said, “A detailed report will be submitted to the government after ascertaining the cause of the fire.”

Inspector Birajdar said the police are awaiting this  report to take further action against all those responsible.

CHARGES SLAPPED

SS Borkar has been booked under sections 56 and 57 of the DMA. The first pertains to an officer withdrawing from duty, and prescribes a jail term of up to a year or fine. The second relates to contravention of an order under sec 65.