Burning bamboo shed, bursting beer kegs posed hurdles for firefighters

The cooling operation is almost over at Kamala Mills. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

For the firefighters who arrived at 1Above resto-bar in Kamala Mills, minutes after the establishment was aflame, burning bamboo shed and bursting beer kegs inside made rescue operations an uphill task. Vishal Vishwasrao (36), a firefighter and the station officer of Byculla fire station, was in the first team that reached the spot.

The firefighting operations, which went on till 6.23 am in the morning, became more challenging than expected for Vishwasrao and his team as liquor bottles stored in the pub and the alleged illegal extension not only caught fire but also led to the flames spread rapidly.

“The bamboo shed was on flames and it fell off just when we were trying enter the place through the ladder. But we managed to get in. As we entered the Above restaurant, we saw beer kegs bursting one by one, restricting our entry. When we reached the other end, we found a few people who told us that there were people stuck in the washroom,” said Vishwasrao.

By the time the team could reach inside, the place was covered in thick smoke, making it difficult for the firefighters to navigate across the other side and reach the washroom.

“By the time we reached the washrooms, people stuck inside had unfortunately lost their lives, prima facie it looked like they suffocated to death,” Vishwasrao said.

According to him, they got the first call at 12.27 am and first team of firefighters reached the spot between 12.37 am and 12.40 am. “As soon as the team reached, it was declared a level two fire and three fire engines and two jumbo tankers also arrived. But within 20 minutes, we gave a call, upgrading the fire to level three and asked for more fire engines and water tankers,” Vishwasrao added.

He said presence of liquor, LPG cylinders and also the illegal extension, not only made the fire spread in no time but also made firefighting and rescue operations difficult.

“As part of the Mumbai Fire Brigade I have seen firefighters taking challenges that are tougher than these. There is no option as its not just firefighting but lives to be saved and people brought to safety,” he said.

The cooling operation is almost over at Kamala Mills. “However, we have still kept one fire engine, one water tanker and one ambulance on stand by,” Vishwasrao added.

He refused to divulge more details about the cause of the blaze and how it spread across other restaurants, only stating that all shall be mentioned in the final report.