Mumbai: The residents of high-rise buildings have been seen spending crores of rupees on interior decoration but unfortunately compromising on their safety. Though the upper floors of such buildings offer spectacular views, their non-functional fire-fighting system makes rescue operations more difficult, risking scores of lives.
The fire in a high-rise building in Dadar East on Wednesday night once again turned the spotlight on fire safety in plush societies in Mumbai.
As the fire-fighting system of RA Residency tower was non-functional, fire personnel were left with no option but to carry the equipment manually to the upper floors. The tallest turntable ladder available with the Mumbai Fire brigade (MFB) is 110m long, which can access up to 30-32 floors; but city roads are not made to handle its weight. At such heights, wind velocity makes fire spread faster, making rescue difficult.
The city is rapidly seeing a rise in 60-70-floor buildings. In such cases, robust internal firefighting systems are the only way to fight fires. However, when these systems are non-functional, the MFB has to depend on its firefighting equipment.
The major challenge in such situations is physically carrying the equipment to the upper floors.
Chief Fire Officer Sanjay Manjrekar said, “We had sent notices to 157 housing societies in December for lapses and had given them time to comply with fire safety norms. Most societies take requisite measures after receiving notices. Those that fail to do so have to face prosecution.”
Former opposition leader in the BMC, Ravi Raja said “The lackadaisical attitude of the civic administration and huge corruption in the fire department are to be blamed. In 2021-22 there were as many as 33,454 calls to the fire brigade, of which 74 were major fires. The MFB should have compliance officers, but they do nothing.”
Former chief fire officer Hemant Parab said, “Wind vertical increases with height of the building. At such times the internal firefighting system should be capable of reducing the pressure on MFB. The fire on the 36th floor of the Blue Mount building could be brought under control because of its internal fire fighting system. But when non-functional, water has to be carried against gravity, and at least four firemen have to carry the pump manually. This delays the operations.”
Sources in MGB said the civic chief’s powers to condone deficiencies in open space should be removed. “This is a much misused power. The builders’ lobby has prevailed upon the State Government and the BMC. In a few redeveloped buildings fire brigade vehicles cannot even enter,” these sources observed.
Also in several buildings thousands of stalls have been erected in the open space. “Several wards, including M-west, F-north, G-south and P-south, have several such illegal stalls which can impede firefighting operations. Yet, no action is being taken against the landlords of these buildings,” said Dr Gaurang Vora, an activist.
Ramesh Prabhu, the chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association said, “Every society should conduct a fire audit in six months. Moreover, fire security should be checked every month. Unfortunately, residents ignore this. We will conduct a workshop in housing societies with the help of MFB next month.”
A senior official said the Fire Brigade should at least now come down heavily on buildings who do not do the mandatory fire audit. He said in several old buildings in south Mumbai, electrical wires hang loosely and yet the landlords concerned are not penalised.
