Mumbai fire: Open ducts, lack of fire safety made blaze worse in Parel

While the cause of the fire at Crystal Towers is yet to be established, the open electrical ducts are suspected to be one of the major reason for the spread of flames

Lack of fire-fighting equipment and shoddy electrical work greatly hampered rescue operations at Crystal Towers near Hindmata Cinema in Parel, where a major fire killed four, and injured 22 others, including four firemen.

The fire broke out at 8.30 am. While the cause of the fire and its point of origin are yet to be established, the open electrical ducts are suspected to be one of the major reason for the spread of flames. The blaze was confined to the wiring in the electric duct in the lift lobby, lift shafts and corridors from the 12th storey to the 16th. Only on the 12th floor were all the apartments gutted. According to fire officials, this may have been because of ongoing woodwork at 1201 and 1202.

Officers load a dead body in the ambulance

No safety measures
The building had no Occupancy Certificate (OC), and no fire audit had been carried out there either. Chief Fire Officer (CFO) P S Rahangdale said, "The building's firefighting system was not in working condition, and even the electric duct had not been sealed."

"It was a major challenge to use our firefighting resources on the floors above the 12th storey, but we saved them due to timely intervention. The tower has been declared unsafe; we have informed the disaster management cell and civic officials to disconnect electricity and water supply."

Level four fire
The fire department initially gave a level three call, which was later raised to level four, deploying 14 fire engines, four jumbo tankers, Breathing Apparatus (BA) Van and a table-turner ladder. The BA sets and table-turner ladder proved vital for the rescue of 42 occupants — including two pregnant women — who had been trapped by the tremendous heat on the upper floors.

In a rare sighting, a woman firefighter was spotted operating the table-turner ladder. They was successful in stopping the spread of fire around 11.30 am, and doused it completely by afternoon.

Residents recall
Uma Kapoor, seventh floor
'We have been sitting at the school compound since morning, and we will now have to go to our relatives' house, as we are not being allowed into our home anymore. The developer should be punished'

Salomi Hyams, ninth floor
'I waited by my window till 10 am, when the fire brigade rescued me on a ladder. Now I am worried about my belongings; I left even my mobile phone at home'

Rahul Dev, 14th floor
'I was getting ready for work when the chaos began. We heard people shouting 'fire, fire' and were hit by smoke when we opened the door. Since our windows had grills, we were rescued from our neighbour's balcony'

Keval Vora, 10th floor
'We were scared to death. It was very difficult to escape; now that we are out, there is no clarity about when we can return home'

03 No. of hours the rescue operation lasted
04 Death toll
18 No. of injured residents
04 No. of injured firemen
16 No. of storeys in building

Also Read: Crystal Tower Fire: Man Rushes To Save Family, Tragically Dies In Elevator

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