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Chief Fire Officer Avinash Sawant admitted that while 518 industrial estates were surveyed by the fire brigade, violations were found in “almost all” of them. “We have submitted this report to Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak. The future course of action on the defaulters will be decided soon,” Sawant said. “These violations will make them prone to untoward incidents at any hour,’’ he said.
On March 17, hours after a fire broke out in a third floor unit of the Retiwala Industrial Estate, a four-storey building with most fire escape routes barred or enclosed, Sawant had announced a survey of all industrial estates.
In the buildings and galas surveyed, officials found that blocked escape routes, enclosed galleries and box grills on windows are common, like in Retiwalla Industrial Estate. According to officials, this was a key cause of death by suffocation at the ill-fated Byculla building. With windows and balconies blocked, fire-fighters could not use snorkels for basic rescue operations.
Another common violation is construction of illegal lofts. “Lofts can be built on 30 per cent of the area. However, at many industrial estates, lofts are built throughout the gala. To make matters worse, we found combustible items stored here,” said an official of the fire department.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Kishore Gajbhiye admitted that the findings of the survey are very grave. “This is a very serious matter. We will take stringent measures,” he assured, adding that show-cause notices would be issued to occupants of industrial estates violating any safety norms. “They will be asked to remove blockages and grills. If they do not take action within the stipulated time, we might have to take strict action like sealing the units,” he said.
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