The inquiry committee set up by the Municipal Commissioner to find the cause behind behind the January 22 fire at Scahinham Height has concluded that the cause of the fire is unknown, but blamed the building’s residents and the society officers bearers for the spreading of the fire and smoke during the mishap, which killed nine residents and injured 21.
"After recording the statements of eye witnesses, observations and the circumstantial evidence, the inquiry committee came to the conclusion that the reason for the fire is still unknown, " the 126-page report compiled in Marathi said.
The report also stated that the fire fighting mechanisms like risers and fire alarms were not working in the building. It also said the residents had made alterations in the building which helped fuel the fire and increased the smoke.
According to the report, the door of each flat should be fireproof but the residents had removed that and installed wooden decorative doors. The residents had also kept wooden material and foam chairs in the electric duct because of which fire fuelled further. The report also stated that many residents had kept wooden shoe racks and other scrap in the corridor due to which the combustion increased. It also alleged that the society had failed to submit 'Form B' to the fire brigade department. According to the rules, the society has to submit this form to inform the fire brigade department that their fire fighting equipment is in a working condition.
The report stated that some residents had also covered common passages in front of their doors by installing grills and walls. It restricted people from leaving their homes during the incident. The duct in front of the lift was also found sealed on the terrace of the 20-storey building.
The committee found that the terrace gate of the building was also found locked and the watchman of the building was not trained to handle fire equipments in case of an emergency situation, which is mandatory.
The January 22 fire broke out on the 19th floor of the 20-storey building, which is also known as the Kamala building by locals, at Nana Chowk in Tardeo.
The BMC commissioner had set up a committee headed by Dy. Municipal commissioner zone 2 and consisting Assistant Commissioner of D ward, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Chief Engineer of Building Proposals Department. Accordingly, the committee visited the spot and perused the documents under which permissions given by various departments and documents. The committee also reviewed the work done by the fire brigade.
Key suggestions made by the committee in the report
1) While granting Occupation Certificate to the builder, the authorities should inform society office bearers to keep enough space to park fire vehicles on the road to carry out a fire fighting operation.
2) After giving OC to the builder, the authorities should make it compulsory for the builder to make a contract of two years with a fire audit agency.
3) BMC should have control over internal changes made by the residents.
4) The terrace of every building should be kept open so people can use it as a refuge area during fire incidents.
5) After giving all the permissions, the fire brigade department should conduct random visits to societies to check fire preparedness.
6) There is a scarcity of jawans in the fire brigade and fresh recruitment should be done.
7) Greater awareness about fire fighting should be conducted especially among the high rise residents .
8) Society office bearers should inform BMC if any occupant has made internal changes.
9) All the hospitals should informed that they should treat immediately, if burnn patients are brought in.
10) Watchmen of buildings should be trained to handle fire equipment.
11) CCTV needs to be install on each floors of the building
