The fire broke out in the electrical duct in the lower floors of the building. It took around three hours and four fire engines to extinguish the fire.
The fire incident in an SRA building in Mahalaxmi has brought to light certain fire-safety norms which were violated by the building. One woman died and 23 were injured in the fire that occurred in the wee hours of Sunday.
While the fire-fighting system in the 18-storeyed building was non-functional, a bunch of discarded belongings of the residents and other items stored in the electrical duct further inflated the fire to the floors above. The fire broke out in the electrical duct in the lower floors of the building. It took around three hours and four fire engines to extinguish the fire.
"We had earlier served a notice to A1 Samrat Ashok Society for various deviations of fire safety under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Act. Right now a police complaint against the society members is in the process as the fire safety installations were not in working conditions," said Chief Fire Officer, Prabhat Rahangdale. He said that in most cases of fire in high-rises the cause was the encroachment and non-sealing of the electrical duct that causes the fire to spread above.
Rahangdale said that in this incident too, it was noticed that the electrical duct on all the floors was encroached by household articles.
Avinash Jitiya, a resident here for nine years, said, "In the annual general meeting of the society in September, I learnt that the lines for the exhaust fans in the common lobbies had been cut-off to avoid power bills. The sprinklers didn't work nor did the fire-alarm sound. Even the refuge floors on the 6th and 12th floor were filled with household goods. There are many irregularities, in fact, even our lifts are not yet certified by the Public Works Department (PWD)."
Another resident, who didn't wish to be named, said that when he had asked about the non-functional fire extinguishers to the society, he had been told that the society lacked funds for its maintenance as not all were paying its dues.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Prabhat Rahangdale")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}