Mumbai police and civic officials said that pub did not follow fire safety norms, violated regulations and its staff fled from the scene after the fire erupted.
Claiming that it had all the fire safety regulations in place, the '1 Above' pub, where a massive blaze killed 14 people, where a massive blaze killed 14 people, on Friday said that the fire emanated from the "adjoining quarters" to the establishment.
In a statement, '1 Above' rejected the claims made by Mumbai police and civic officials who said that pub did not follow fire safety norms, violated regulations and its staff fled from the scene after the fire erupted.
"The facts of the incident, as seen by our staff, indicate a rising fire that began to emanate from the adjoining quarters to1Above. We presume the unmanageable nature at the preliminary source of the fire resulted in it's escalation to our property where all owners, staff and restaurant management from 1 Above engaged immediately in clearing the crowd from the establishment," it said.
It added, "There was no escape fromMojo’s Bistro therefore we believe that all their guests were told go through the premises of1Above as we have an emergency exit. Hence patrons from Mojo's Bistro also began to rush into our premises as we helped the Fire Brigade that had arrived at the scene to evacuate guests. All our premises are well inspected and we have the requisite permissions for the same."
The managment of the '1 Above' pub claimed that there were over 10 fire extinguishers and "adequate fire safety signatures" in the premises as is required by the authorities.
"1Above has all it's fire safety regulations, licenses, procedures and norms in place - we have been able to help save many lives thanks to our fire safety protocols and are grateful to our staff for their presence of mind and help in this time of crisis," it said.
1Above conducts a quarterly fire safety and crisis management training, it said.
Earlier, Mumbai police and civic officials said the pub did not follow fire safety norms and violated regulations on encroachment with obstructions blocking its emergency exit.
Contrary to the claim by 1Above, police said, the pub's manager and other staff fled from the spot instead of helping the customers injured in the blaze.
"No fire safety norms were followed by the pub and the management did not make any arrangement for the safe exit of its customers during the blaze," police said.
They said there were hindrances created on the emergency exit way. "Negligence on the part of the pub led to the death of 14 customers and injuries to several others." "The manager and other staff of the pub ran away from the spot without helping those injured in the blaze," police said.
Meanwhile, a civic official told PTI the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had taken action against the pub more than three times for "violations".
According to the official, the pub had obtained the fire safety and building permissions from the civic body in October 2016.
"However, as '1 Above' flouted the rules and regulations by way of encroachment and other violations, the BMC had taken legal action against its management on May 27 for using the open space for commercial activities," he said.
Notices had been served on the pub on August 4, September 22 and October 27 this year by the BMC, asking it to stop encroaching on the open space, he said.
"On August 2, we razed a portion of the pub for encroaching upon the open space. Thereafter, on October 22, we seized the open space, where it illegally served the customers. Despite that, the owners of the pub had indulged in violations," he added.
Watch video: All you need to know about Kamala Mills fire
The fire started at the rooftop of the pub which was hosting a birthday party and spread rapidly through the building, killing 14 people, most of them women, shortly after midnight.
The police have booked Hratesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Manka of C Grade Hospitality, which manages the pub, along with others, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).
The case has been lodged at the N M Joshi Marg Police Station.
(With PTI inputs)
){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}
 "A view of the pub in Kamala Mills Compound that caught fire last night")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}