Civic body to investigate rules flouted by high-rise

Mumbai: In the wake of the fire that broke out at Beau Monde Towers, Prabhadevi, on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will investigate whether rules were flouted which led to difficulties in fire-fighting operations. The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) could not use its snorkel due to which, firemen had to carry out the entire fire-fighting exercise manually from inside the high-rise.

Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee said, “Though the fire-fighting system was operating in the Beau Monde building, there were difficulties in placing the snorkel in the premises due to lack of space. We will investigate whether rules were violated in using the space in the basement, parking lot or other places in the building. Action will be taken against the concerned people if discrepancies are found during the investigation.”

A snorkel is a hydraulic platform used to fight blazes in high-rises. The MFB had carried both its snorkels - 90 metres and 70 metres high – during the fire-fighting operations in Beau Monde building. However, both the ladders were rendered useless, as there was not enough space in the building premises to position them close to the fire-fighting exercise.

Owing to this, firemen had to carry out fire-fighting operations by reaching the top floors of the building. They climbed up all the way to the terrace, from where they doused the fire with the help of the building’s fire-fighting system which was in working condition. The entire fire-fighting exercise was carried out manually, in which two firemen were injured and had to be hospitalised due to suffocation. “We will probe whether alterations had been made in the basement or parking area of the building,” said Mr Mukherjee. According to fire officials, the fireman lift in the tower could not be used, further complicating the fire-fighting exercise. The fire lift, which can be operated from within the elevator itself, got drenched in water and hence became non-functional, said a senior fire official.

“The building had a fire lift with a switch from the outside and can be broken open after which it operates only from the inside. But it could not be used after it became wet,” he said.