‘Khar building firefighting system was not working’

A firefighter outside the fire-hit building

The firefighting apparatus at Nutan Villa in Khar West where a fire left one dead was not in working condition, said fire brigade officials on Friday. The fire started at 7 pm on Thursday and was brought under control after 4 hours. The fire department will now serve a notice on the building.

As per the fire brigade rules, if the firefighting system on the premises are non-functional, a notice is served under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, which states that it is the "owners or occupiers' liability to provide for fire prevention and life safety measures".

Confirming that a notice would be served, Chief Fire Officer Hemant Parab said, "Prima facie, it appears that the fire had started on the first floor and had travelled upwards but the cause of the fire is yet under investigation."

Fire officials said the fire began from the electrical duct on the first floor of the lobby area and moved upwards. As the deceased was not along with the two that were rescued from a window, officials assume the person tried to escape downwards instead of upwards. They are investigating whether any of the exit doors to the balcony got accidentally locked which led the victim to panic and run towards the first floor.