Mumbai Fire Brigade to Issue Legal Notice After Fatal High-Rise Blaze
Mumbai: In the wake of a tragic fire that claimed the life of a senior citizen in a Vile Parle high-rise, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has conducted a critical inspection of the housing society. Officials have announced their intention to issue a formal notice under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006. This legal provision explicitly places the onus for maintaining functional fire safety systems squarely on the shoulders of building owners or occupants.
Firefighting System Failure Under Scrutiny
Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Prasad Sapkal provided a detailed account of the system's catastrophic failure. He revealed that the society's automated firefighting infrastructure did not engage when the blaze initially erupted. "The system only began to function after our team arrived on the scene and manually attempted to operationalize it," Sapkal stated. He elaborated on the technical failure, explaining, "The core issue was that the fire pumps—including the jockey pump, main pump, and diesel pump—were not primed. In high-rise buildings, these pumps must be pre-primed and ready. An unprimed pump may run mechanically but fail to draw water, resulting in dangerous delays in sprinkler or hydrant activation. Under ideal circumstances, the system should have activated automatically the moment the fire started."
Circumstances of the Tragedy and a Narrow Escape
The fire's impact was exacerbated by the absence of family members in the apartment at the critical moment. Sapkal noted that no one was home when the fire broke out, allowing the flames to spread unchecked. "The family was eventually alerted by an individual outside the building. Tragically, when the elderly woman returned to the residence, she inhaled a massive amount of smoke and collapsed," he recounted. In a contrasting tale of survival, a 34-year-old woman managed to find refuge in a duct area within the building. She remained there, sheltered from the immediate danger, until fire brigade personnel arrived and rescued her.
Family Gathering and Probable Ignition Source
Local residents reported that a wedding celebration within the family had drawn all members and relatives to the building's terrace and seventh floor, leaving the apartment completely vacant. Fire officers provided further details about the layout of the affected floor. While flat number 1301 was a residential unit, the adjacent flat, 1302, was being used to store gym equipment. An official indicated a probable cause, stating, "A lit diya (oil lamp) was present inside the house. This is the most likely ignition source that triggered the blaze, which subsequently gutted the entire apartment."
The Mumbai Fire Brigade has emphasized that the precise and definitive cause of the fire will only be established after a comprehensive and detailed investigation into the entire incident is completed.
