Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The government seems not to have learned from the massive fire at Satpura last year. Had the fire safety measures been effectively implemented then, the Saturday’s Mantralaya fire could have been averted.
In June 2023, the fire at Satpura building intensified when it reached the room storing old and discarded wooden items. Similarly, during the Mantralaya fire, numerous wooden articles on the fifth floor acted as fuel, as the chambers were divided by wooden partitions. The presence of both wooden items and stored documents facilitated the rapid spread of the fire.
Moreover, to prevent the water seeping from the roof, bitumen was used as filler and this (bitumen) further aggravated the fire situation at the fifth floor. BMC fire officer Sajid Khan said that during the Satpura fire, various shortcomings were pointed to the government, he said.
NOT CLEAR Whether fire safety audit was carried out at Mantralaya building or not.
Were fire safety devices functioning, BMC to check
On Sunday, we are going to crosscheck the maintenance of Mantralaya. Along with this, we will also check whether the fire safety equipment were working and whether the employees of Mantralaya knew how to use them,” said BMC fire officer Sajid Khan.
The officer said that on the last working day, the lights of offices should be shut down in government buildings. This would prevent any situation of sparking and will also save electricity as well.
A lesson for other two annexes
The fire at the old Mantralaya building is also a lesson for the two annexes of the mantralaya. They are completely closed from all around and in case of a fire-like incident, things could turn ugly.
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