Firefighting system wasn’t working in Bandra tower

The fire started in a duplex on the 13th and 14th floors of Jivesh building in Bandra

Jivesh building in Bandra, where a level-2 fire broke out on Monday evening, will be served a notice by the Mumbai Fire Brigade over non-functional fire fighting system. Firefighters had to carry water from the ground floor to the 14th floor using hose pipes to douse the fire. "Firefighting system and apparatus were installed in the building but they were not in working condition," said a fire officer. The building is located on Bandstand Road, near Mannat bungalow which is home to actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Fire officers evacuated residents trapped on the upper floors of Jivesh building in Bandra after the heat and smoke reduced

The fire broke out around 7.45 pm in the 21-storey high-rise at Bandra's Bandstand area and soon reached level-2 intensity. "If the fire fighting system was in working condition, our fighters would have used a hose reel from the same floor which would have saved time. But in this case, we had to take a hose reel from the ground floor to the 14th floor via a staircase. As the staircase is circular, it took time to build up water pressure and the fire fighting operation was delayed. Even the sprinklers were not working. We will give a notice to the building on Wednesday," said MFB Chief Hemant Parab.

Another fire officer said, "The building was built in 1997 and the fire started in a duplex apartment on the 13th and 14th floors. One person was present in the apartment at the time of the fire and he alerted the security guards and left. But the people residing on the upper floors got trapped."

Eight fire engines and seven water tankers were rushed to the spot and it took almost two hours to control the fire. Residents trapped on the upper floors were evacuated after the smoke and heat reduced. A fireman was injured in the incident due to suffocation.

7.45 pm
Time when the fire broke out

02 hours
Time it took to control the fire