How Ambani's Antilia handled fire is a lesson

Mumbai's Chief Fire Officer, on Tuesday, said Mumbaikars had an important lesson to take away from the Monday night fire at industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence Antilia.

Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said, "A working fire fighting system such as alarms, sprinklers, fire extinguishers etc., and a staff trained in fire fighting helped avert major tragedy. Antilia was also regular with its fire audits and inspections. In most cases, that greatly determines the quantum of damage to property and human lives."

According to him, 90 per cent of the city's buildings do not comply with fire safety norms. "Twelve housing societies were recently prosecuted due to their lethargic attitude towards safety norms," he said.

As per the data provided by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, between April 2016 and March 2017, the department inspected 1,334 buildings, and issued notices to 1,190 buildings to comply with the audits.

A fire officer, who was on call at Antilia told DNA that the Ambani residence at Altamount Road has world-class fire safety system. As soon as they learned of the short-circuit, they used fire extinguishers to douse the fire, preventing it from spreading. Only a portion of the terrace garden was damaged. We are in the process of preparing the report. It will be submitted soon," he said.