Cinevista's power, water connection cut

The Cinevista studio, which caught fire on Saturday, had completely failed to comply with the fire safety norms. After the fire was doused at midnight, fire officials informed the civic body that the studio's firefighting equipment was not in working condition and that the power and water supply for the studio be disconnected.

"The studio is not allowed to conduct any shoots until the investigation is underway and further instructions are given", a senior fire officer said.

The officer added, "The studio had the firefighting equipment installed but they failed to work. As the door was big, the crew members could escape. We will carry out the investigation to find out what caused the fire, but the studio had all combustible materials. It caused the fire to escalate faster, which lead to the roof collapsing".

The studio where the fire broke had at least 150 people working, some on set and some outside. It is suspected that a short circuit caused the fire as many wires were laid open on the floor. Babu Patra, equipment manager of the studio said, "When I saw the fire, I rushed to move the big cameras but I saw the fire was spreading too fast and the camera and other equipment fell. In the ensuing chaos, I somehow managed to get out."

Patra said, "We have only one main entry and exit. It was only because the studio was on the ground floor and near the door that we all could escape. At least 60 to 70 people on the set ran outside at a time. Had the studio been on an upper floor or had all studios had shoots going on, the casualties would have been high."

Patra accepted that the various studios in Cinevista have different entry and exit doors and it is confusing to get out when it is very crowded.