There was only one emergency exit door for both restaurants which was locked when fire broke out

Mumbai: The two rooftop restaurants gutted in Friday’s blaze at Lower Parel’s Kamala Mills compound, ‘1 Above’ and ‘Mojo’s Bistro,’ had only one emergency exit, which was found locked when the fire broke out at around 12.30 am, according to security guards who were present at the spot. It was Mahesh Suble, a security guard, who slithered down a metal pipe and broke the door to evacuate people trapped inside immediately.

The office employees and guests were evacuated immediately. The building is a ground plus five-storey structure and the fire erupted allegedly from Mojo’s, a rooftop restaurant. Both the restaurants were housed in the open terrace of Trade House building at Kamala Mills.

“As soon as the fire erupted, guests and office employees began to panic. People started rushing towards the emergency door and the crowded the corridor, creating a lot of commotion. I was on the top floor when the incident happened, I came down through the pipe and broke open the exit door. Around 200 office employees, who were trapped were rescued.

Also a few guests managed to get out through the door,” said Suble. The security guard also alerted the guard who was at the ground floor. Together the duo helped in evacuating people.   A statement released by 1 Above stated, “There was no escape from Mojo’s Bistro therefore we believe that all their guests were told go through the premises of 1 Above 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.”