No ventilation, closed exit made Surat fire deadly

The inquiry into the Surat fire incident that ended up killing 22 students and injuring 15 others have revealed several lapses including those on part of the various civic bodies and government department.

Mukesh Puri, principal secretary, Urban Development Department in a press conference said that a report of the investigation has been given to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and prima facie the fire was a result of a short circuit. "A short circuit happened in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner and the transformer also caught fire. The display panel that was covered with a flex banner soon caught fire and the fire spread towards the top floors burning more panels," said Puri.

He further added that there was a dome like structure on the third floor and it also had a staircase made of wood which provided further inflammable material for the fire to spread.

"There was another staircase for entry and exit in the building but the door had been closed. This prevented the escape when the fire happened. Had the door been accessible loss of lives could have been saved," he said.

He added that apart from owner of the art class Bhargav Bhutani, three other teachers were present at the time of fire, one of whom is in a critical condition.

So far four people have been arrested including Hasmukh Vekariya, Dinesh Kahad, Sivaji Vekariya. Bhutani was arrested yesterday. A complaint has also been filed against the respective building authorities.

Officials said earlier after a fire incident in Vesu areas of Surat, the Municipal Corporation had carried out a survey about fire safety infrastructure. 900 buildings had been surveyed of which 449 had been asked to install fire safety measures . Despite this how this particular building managed to function without fire safety is a matter of investigation.

Investigations have revealed that the Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) had given permission for the building in 2015 but that was for a three-storeyed structure. The fourth floor had been constructed in violation of rules and was not even in the original plan of the building. The building also lacked clearance by the engineers of the civic body.

It was also revealed in the probe that the building had no ventilation and and this caused several to die of suffocation. The presence of proper ventilation, officials said could have ensured that the smoke was not concentrated in one place.

Puri has also promised investigation into lapse by the fire department. "We will also be making a list of sensitive buildings. As of now 11 500 buildings have been identified and those that lack fire safety have been issued notices," he said

The state will also be carrying out survey against establishments operating in basement and terraces. In many buildings fire fighting systems are present but no training has been given in operation of these systems.

Fire at a factory...

A major fire was reported at Jay Chemical factory located in Sanand. The fire accompanied by a blast at around 5 pm inside Uma estate. 18 fire fighting vehicles including 100 firemen were despatched to the place. 

... & Guj VC office

A fire was reported from the office of the vice-chancellor of Gujarat University after a short circuit in the air conditioning. The fire incident happened while the vice-chancellor was busy interviewing teachers for various positions. The situation was brought under control without intervention of the fire department. . 

illegal structures

The Surat Municipal Corporation sprung into action with a demolition drive targeting all illegal constructions in all the zones of the city. Several restaurants that were illegally constructed in violation of norms were torn down.