Fire-fighting equipment inside the residential complex wasn’t working at the time of the incident, fire brigade official confirms
Major damage was reported on the 19th floor of One Avighna Park. Pic/Ashish Raje
Residents at One Avighna Park, Lower Parel, where a fire broke out on Friday, killing one, have begun returning to their flats, as the BMC restored the electric supply and the gas pipeline on Saturday. This comes a day after the fire brigade vacated the building to carry out investigations. Prima facie it is said to be a short circuit, but more details are awaited.
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On Saturday, when mid-day visited the site, people were seen walking in and out of the building at Gate No. 2. A security personnel, who did not wish to be named, said that a few residents had moved out for the night and had returned only on Saturday, after the BMC gave them the green signal.
In a video that went viral on Friday night, the owner of the apartment on the 19th floor, where major damage was reported, mentioned that he was not at home, when the fire broke out. He rushed home, after his daughter phoned him. When he arrived, he saw smoke at the entrance of his home. He tried to douse the fire, but the extinguishers and water pipelines were not working. He also said that the fire brigade had arrived late. However, one of the fire officials, not willing to be named, said, “We were here immediately after we received the call. But it’s true that we struggled to put on the water supply to extinguish the fire.”
The fire officials have registered a complaint against the owner of the building, the developer of One Avighna Park, at Kalachowkie Police station for non-functioning fire-fighting equipment. While the owner of the building had on Friday claimed that he had done a fire audit recently, fire brigade sources told mid-day that they are yet to retrieve the report.
Rajendra Chaudhari, deputy chief fire officer, confirmed the development. However, when asked if any notice will be sent to the owner, the fire officials said that they have not decided on that, as yet. He added, “We have cleared the site on Saturday morning and have asked the society to isolate the wirings and gas lines of the affected apartment and allowed them to resume their electric and gas supply.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who called for an urgent meeting with various deputy municipal commissioners on Friday, has asked civic officials to draft a separate policy for high-rises to manage the fire break outs.
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