Mumbai saw several fire accidents in the midst of monsoons this year exposing the soft underbelly of the city’s exigency and fire preparedness yet again. The latest was in the upscale Bandra MTNL facility which was massive. Just a day earlier, Churchill Chambers in Colaba experienced a tragic fire accident.
There have been more than 49,000 fire incidents in Mumbai in the last decade, killing over 600 people, the Maharashtra government said in the Assembly in November 2018. A massive fire in two pubs located in the Kamala Mills Compound here claimed 14 lives on December 29, 2017. In another horrific incident, 12 people were killed in a blaze at a snack shop in Saki Naka-Kurla area on December 18, 2017.
CHURCHILL CHAMBERS BLAZE
On Sunday, 21st July, a team of firemen were inspecting safety equipment in a nearby building when they noticed smoke billowing from a neighborly building called Churchill Chambers (Colaba). Ishwar Kamble and his team rushed to the site with hosepipe and turntable ladder. One Shyam Iyer, 54, succumbed in the incident.
As per detailed reports, one person died and another was injured while 13 others had to be rescued that Sunday morning. The deceased had gone to the innermost room of an apartment to protect himself from the fire. One of his neighbours inhaled a lot of smoke and had to be moved to an Intensive Care Unit. The Fire Brigade rescued 13 others using ladders and other methods.
The incident occurred around noon on Sunday at Colaba’s Churchill Chambers, a ground-plus-three-storey residential building located behind Taj Mahal Hotel. The building is largely a wooden structure with reinforcements.
The fire broke out in one of the apartments on the third floor but its source could not be exactly ascertained. It was confined to the third floor flat and the staircase leading to the second floor. The Fire Brigade, which categorised the fire as Level II (minor), sent four fire engines and four tankers to the spot.
MTNL FIRE –A MIRACULOUS RESCUE ACT SAVES 84
A massive fire broke out on Monday in MTNL building trapping 84 people on the terrace of the nine-storey structure, all of whom were later rescued by fire brigade personnel in one of the biggest operations in recent times, officials said. The blaze started at around 3 pm at the building in suburban Bandra, which houses state-run telecom company MTNL, and all those stranded were rescued by the evening, they said
Cooling operations were still in progress at the MTNL building in suburban Bandra where a massive fire had broken out on Monday, July 22 an official told newspersons Tuesday. “I am happy to see that everything went well during the rescue operation,” the official said. Monday’s blaze was the latest in a series of fire incidents in the metropolis in the last few years.
Robofire (a robot) was also at work but could not quite measure up in the conditions according to some observers. Asked why the robot deployed at the site did not perform as expected, he said it did a “satisfactory” job. “The robot’s job was quite satisfactory. Its handler did not get enough space to manoeuvre it,” he added.
The third, fourth and fifth floors of the nine-storey building were the worst affected due to the blaze, Mumbai fire brigade chief PS Rahangdale told PTI on Tuesday. “Though the fire was brought under control on Monday evening, the cooling operations are still underway to ward off the smoke and eliminate any chances of a blaze,” he said. “The fire broke out at the building, which houses state-run telecom company MTNL, on Monday afternoon and up to 100 people, 84 of them stranded on its terrace, were rescued in one of the biggest operations in recent times,” he added.
Over two dozen machines and equipment, including fire engines, special hydraulic ladders, jumbo water tankers, robofire (the robot), rescue van and breathing set vans, were used for the rescue operation that lasted for several hours, explained Rahangdale .
“It was quite satisfying to see our personnel working so hard, beyond the call of duty, to save lives. Our men showed immense bravery and presence of mind while marching into the fire-hit building where the temperature was over 800 degree Celsius coupled with poisonous gases,” he said.
From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 Mumbai lost more than Rs 16 crore in property damages caused by fire, India Today reports. This figure is a testimony to the fact that the financial capital of the country needs to do a lot more when it comes to compliance and safety of commercial and residential high-rises.
Mumbai has a web of high-rises in the city and suburbs which include both residential and commercial establishments. But two major fire incidents within a span of 24 hours – Churchill Chambers on Sunday and MTNL building on Monday — have brought back the focus on fire safety in Mumbai high-rises.
RTI details accessed by India Today TV show the city’s vulnerability to fire. A close look at the figures for 2018 shows that a total of 4,899 calls were received by the fire department. Out of these 151 calls were received for the high-rises. Shocking as it may be but there were 969 fire calls for residential buildings as well. The commercial establishments too weren’t far behind with 386 calls and the slums had a figure of 544 against them.
“Today, there are so many high-rises in the city but the safety aspect is never given importance. Safety audits are not conducted in time and that’s the only reason why you have so many complaints from the commercial and residential high-rises,” says RTI activist Shakeel Ahmed who’s accessed the RTI details.
Interestingly, defective electric circuit was cited as the reason for fire in 3,195 cases. Gas-cylinder leakage caused fire in 111 incidents whereas in 1,593 cases there were other reasons given by the fire department.
These fire incidents take a heavy toll on human life as well — more than 50 lives were lost in these unfortunate incidences.
Bandra, Dindoshi and Marol areas all reported fires in more than 10 high-rises in 2018. But what’s more dangerous is the count of the residential complexes. Following are the places in Mumbai and the corresponding numbers which reported residential fire incidents:
Marol: 133
Dadar: 70
Andheri: 62
Vile Parle: 58
Dharavi: 50
Chembur: 43
Now let’s have a look at the commercial establishments. Marol topped the list with 34 incidents; Worli reported 33 whereas Kurla reported 26 cases.
Shocking as it may sound but from 2008 to 2018 Mumbai reported a total of 53,333 cases of fire in which 666 people lost their lives. There have been many incidents since the beginning of 2019 as well but the consolidated official data on the same are still awaited.
Congress leader Ravi Raja says, “People will continue to suffer till there is a proper policy in place on fire safety. Fire-safety audits need to be made compulsory at all costs. Today these audits are conducted only randomly and that’s the reason why we have such incidents.”
