The Mumbai Fire Brigade has concluded short circuit as the cause of last month’s fire at Crystal Tower, Parel, that killed four people. An investigation report was submitted to the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) on Tuesday.
The fire brigade had rescued about 35 people stranded from the higher floors in a challenging operation and none of the building’s firefighting equipment was found to be working.
Soon after, the fire brigade had directed that the building’s water and electric supply be disconnected as it was unsafe. The fire brigade also filed a police complaint, following which the builder was arrested.
The report has named ‘defective electric circuit’ as the cause. It states that a short circuit took place in the building’s electric shaft along the wall. The report has named factors such as electric cables inside the shaft, storage of combustible material, wooden furniture in lobbies etc., as reasons for the fire spreading.
It also says the lift lobby had several wooden shoe racks and other combustible material that caught fire on the 12th floor, where the fire spread rapidly. An ‘unsealed electric cable shaft’ in the lift lobby left two people dead inside the lift.
The report makes it clear that the final fire brigade no-objection certificate will not be given to the building unless it is made fire compliant. Without this, the building cannot get an occupation certificate.
