Nearly a fortnight after a major fire broke out in a high rise commercial complex killing a fireman, the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mr. AM Varma has been stripped of his post and demoted to the rank of deputy chief fire officer by the BMC, the civic body here on Monday.
A senior official from the BMC told The Hindu that the lack of leadership and unprofessional conduct on the part of the CFO was the reason behind the change at the helm.
Sunil Nesrikar, the deputy chief fire officer has been given additional charge until a suitable replacement is found, the source added.
"The force was marred with disrepute with allegations of corruption, infighting and lack of decision making. Routine procedures like conducting fire drills were not carried out,” a senior officer explained.
“In the recent fire accidents the Fire brigade neither carried out any proper enquiry nor deliberated on how to control the fire,” the source said.
On July 11, a major fire broke out on the 21st floor of the Lotus Business Park, a commercial building in Andheri in suburban Mumbai. Over 30 firemen were stuck while controlling the flames. The Navy helicopters were pressed into service to evacuate them but one fireman, Mr. Nitin Yewlekar , died in the fire and a few other were injured.
Subsequently the police had registered a case of negligence against unknown people against the builder.