Kamala Mills compound fire kills 14, injures 21: Blatant violation of safety norms, claimed lives of young revelers

Following the devastating fire at a rooftop pub in Mumbai that burned out 14 lives on Wednesday night, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has suspended five junior level officials on charges of negligence, leaving many fuming that the move may well have been an attempt to shield senior officials who were allegedly hand-in-glove with the owners of the restaurant where the fire broke out. Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta also issued transfer orders for G/South ward’s assistant commissioner Prashant Sapkale to K/East ward. Devendra Jain would be appointed as the new assistant commissioner in the area. The incident, which was largely being seen as one that was waiting to happen as safety norms were flouted blatantly, also injured 21 people.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who visited the Kamala Mills compound, where the tragedy struck, said that a high-level inquiry has already been ordered and the municipal commissioner will submit a report within 15 days. “I have already ordered a high-level enquiry in the matter. The Mumbai commissioner will submit a report and anybody found guilty in the incident will not be spared. All illegal construction would also be demolished at war footing,” the chief minister said. Police have also booked Hratesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Manka of C Grade Hospitality, which manages 1Above , along with others, under various charges including cuplable homicide not amounting to murder. They are also charged IPC sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). Two of those booked have been detained. The fire that started at around 12.30 am at 1 Above pub on the terrace during a party, spread rapidly through the building to Mojo’s Bistro pub on the third floor one level below, killing 14 people, including a woman celebrating her 29th birthday and many of her friends, officials said. The incident caused massive outrage among the relatives of the victims and survivors as most people claimed that an avoidable incident was converted into a tragedy due to the restaurants’ management’s apathy towards safety norms. All the 14 deaths were caused by asphyxiation (inhaling the poisonous fumes) rather than burn or other injuries, confirmed Avinash Supe, dean of the KEM hospital where the injured and dead were brought. This further indicated that proper ventilation and speedy evacuation could have averted a major tragedy. [caption id=“attachment_4280827” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A view of the charred building in which a fire broke out in Mumbai on early Friday. At least 14 people were killed and as many injured after a major fire in Kamala Mills Compound in Lower Parel. PTI[/caption] Blatant violation of fire safety provisions led to massive blaze Anybody who frequents South Mumbai clubs and restaurants couldn’t help but notice that most of them are clustered around the several British-era old mill compounds in Lower Parel area. Kamala Mill compound, another such teeming hub of various eateries, pubs and offices is packed full of buildings erupting in a haphazard fashion. A perfunctory search yielded 36 names of restaurants, bars, cafes, clubs and pubs located inside Kamala Mills. Such a large concentration, in addition to the many shopping destinations and corporate offices which also exist in the area, means that a calamity in one establishment leaves several others in the vicinity equally at risk. There have been allegations, time and again, that civic authorities have turned a blind eye to construction irregularities and violation of fire safety norms in the compound. The pub, 1Above, where the fire reportedly broke out, seems to have violated a lot of fire safety provisions. Sources told _Firstpost_ that the BMC had in August this year demolished a parapet which was commonly shared by 1Above and another restaurant Mojo’s Bistro. But the parapet was re-constructed to facilitate seating arrangements for guests. The municipal corporation had, in fact, served three notices to 1Above restaurant over illegal constructions on 4 August, 22 September and 27 October, 2017, asking it not to encroach the open space. TV news channels have also reported that 1Above had also left at least 25 gas cylinders on the rooftop, which could have led to a much higher death toll had the fire spread to the cylinders. The restaurant building had also reportedly blocked its fire exit, which led to the people present at the building being stuck. The only exit available between the two restaurants was a narrow staircase and another emergency exit through the kitchen of 1Above. The eyewitnesses stated that many of the patrons ended up shutting themselves in a small restroom to avoid the scorching flames as they could not find the exit. All the 14 bodies were later recovered from the restroom and the cause of death was asphyxiation. Another India Today report said that the presence of untrained staff was also a violation by 1Above. Poor ventilation, improper functioning of fire equipment, and the presence of only a single staircase for people entering and leaving were also some of the other violations. The eyewitnesses said that the restaurants also did not have fire-extinguishers at the spot. The roof-top section also reportedly had illegal bamboo-sheds and false canopy which are highly inflammable and caused the fire to quickly spread. The two restaurants were completely gutted within minutes. Among the dead was Khushbu Bansali who was celebrating her 29th birthday, and 10 other women, according to an official list of the victims. Bansali’s grandfather, Babulal Mehta, blamed the “irresponsible” hotel management and the civic authorities. “The hotel had put up a temporary structure supported by bamboo, with the possibility of catching fire. There was no fire extinguishing facility either. It is the responsibility of the police and civic authorities act against any violations,” he said. Sulbha KG Arora, a Mumbai-based doctor, told NDTV news channel, she was at the 1Above restaurant. “There was no time for anyone to reach out because the fire spread so rapidly. The staff members of the restaurant were trying to help the customers as much as possible,” she told NDTV on the phone. Drunken stupor, selfie obsession further delayed rescue ops According to a PTI report, some patrons of 1Above casually took selfies of the massive flames that leapt metres into the sky, while a few others lay immobilised in a drunken stupor, delaying evacuation from the pub. Sanjay Giri, whose office is just on the terrace adjoining the rooftop pubs, said initially the drunken stupor of some of the patrons and an obsession with getting videos of the rooftop pub engulfed in fire delayed rescue efforts. “I guided whoever we could see. It was later, after we went down, that they told us about their relatives and friends being stuck in the toilet. A few voice and video calls were also made,” Giri said. Sulbha Arora, one of the patrons, said people were falling and running over each other in the rush to get out of the building.

There was a stampede and someone pushed me. People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don't know how I got out alive. Some powers were definitely protecting me 🙏🏻 #kamalamills

— Dr Sulbha Arora (@SulbhaArora) December 28, 2017

Warning signs neglected? An activist of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had reportedly complained in October to the civic body BMC about illegal structures that could cause a disaster, but he was told there was “nothing illegal”,  NDTV reported. Congress corporator and Leader of the Opposition in the BMC, Ravi Raja had also lodged a similar complained with the BMC against offices and restaurant violating rule, converting office premises or open space into a restaurant. The BMC in a written reply to Raja had again stated that no violation was committed by any of the structure in Kamala Mill Compound. Eyewitness account “I was on the night shift. We heard people screaming at the pub. Initially, we thought it is due to the party which was underway there,” said Sanjay Jadhav, a programme producer of a news channel. “When I came out of my office, I saw that a fire has broken out at the rooftop pub. The main entrance of our office was blocked due to the flames,” he said. The massive blaze engulfed the entire building in about 30 minutes and took several hours to be put out. The cause of the fire is not known. Prateek Thakur, 28, one of the survivors sustained burns in his right hand while helping out others escape. He said, “People were drunk. They were not in their senses and didn’t realise that it will catch fire so soon. I started shouting. It was then that the public started running. They didn’t realise that there was a barricade. They were drunk and were not even able to think that they should jump. They just stopped. There was nothing called a fire exit. There were 10-15 people ahead of me. I jumped above them and then came out.” He again re-entered to look for his wife but helped other people get out when he learnt that she wasn’t stuck inside. He also said that a watchman had forced people into the restroom and wasn’t letting them out, apparently afraid that the fire would reach them. The people inside were only rescued after the outlet’s DJ intervened and shouted at the guard. Siddharth Shroff, 41, another survivor had a similar experience. “We were at the 1Above restaurant for a get together with my relatives from the US. The fire started spreading from the rooftop. We tried to use the exit but since the exit was narrow, people got stuck. There were around 150 people at 1Above,” he said. “My shirt caught fire and then it spread. We started asking for help. There was a stampede inside. There was no other exit,” he added.

Restaurants’ reaction In separate statements, both Mojo’s Bistro and 1Above said they had implemented all fire and safety norms as per rules and did not store any gas cylinders on their premises. Both the restaurants said that the fire broke out at the other restaurant’s premise. “Our staff were able to evacuate all our guests and themselves out to safety with zero injury. There were no cylinders on our premises,” Mojo’s Bistro said. The statement added it was saddened by the incident and the loss of lives. The statement from Mojo’s Bistro claimed the facility had all its fire safety norms, certificates and procedures in place. The staff, it said, was “thoroughly trained” in fire drills due to which the guests could be evacuated. 1Above on the other hand claimed that the other restaurant did not have a safety exit, which is why the patrons dining there had to use 1Above’s exit. They also said that the fire rose from “adjoining quarters” and not their restaurant. “The facts of the incident, as seen by our staff, indicate a rising fire that began to emanate from the adjoining quarters to 1Above. We presume the unmanageable nature at the preliminary source of the fire resulted in it’s escalation to our property where all owners, staff and restaurant management from 1Above engaged immediately in clearing the crowd from the establishment. There was no escape from Mojo’s Bistro, therefore, we believe that all their guests were told go through the premises of 1Above as we have an emergency exit. Hence patrons from Mojo’s Bistro also began to rush into our premises as we helped the fire brigade that had arrived at the scene to evacuate guests. All our premises are well inspected and we have the requisite permissions for the same.” The blaze comes as a huge setback to the government’s plans to make nightlife attractive by permitting all shops/malls to function round-the-clock, to generate more employment and boost tourism in the state. Barely nine days ago the state government had notified the relevant amendments to the laws, though it was not made applicable to bars, pubs, discotheques and wine shops. However, these were expected to come under the ambit of the new laws in due course, with the BMC initiating several measures in this direction. The Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, alleging corruption in the BMC, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the tragedy, especially with the New Year Eve celebrations around the corner. Blaming the BMC, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam sought stringent action against those responsible for allowing the eateries to function despite rules being blatantly flouted. Quoting a friend who witnessed the conflagration, Congress legislator Nitesh Rane claimed that a hookah parlour caused the blaze and not a short-circuit as speculated. He added that Mojo’s Bistro and another restaurant are only issued food licences, but not for serving hookahs to customers. Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray, one of the proponents of improving Mumbai nightlife, said implementation of fire safety norms was a must and BMC would come down hard on violators. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya attacked the Shiv Sena-controlled BMC for lapses on its part which led to the blaze and demanded a complete fire audit of all buildings in the city. With inputs from agencies