Blaze in New Tilak Nagar highrise: Fire Brigade to send notice to society over non-functional firefighting system

On Sunday, Hemant Parab, Chief Fire officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade said, “The building’s firefighting system was not operational at the time of the fire. The fire brigade reached the site of the fire on Saturday and noticed this. On Monday, the fire brigade will issue a notice to the building under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006.”

According to this section of the Act, it is the responsibility of the owner or occupier to ensure fire safety in the building.

The fire brigade had rescued 33 residents trapped in the building during firefighting operations. While this was a level 2 fire (medium intensity), the entire 13-storey building was engulfed in smoke, fire brigade officials said. Common areas in the building such as passageways and staircases were engulfed in thick smoke. If the firefighting system of the building had been working, the smoke would not have become so thick, according to fire brigade officials. The fire brigade will also carry out an investigation this week to determine the cause of the fire in the building.

Fire Brigade to add 2 new robots to its fleet

The Mumbai Fire Brigade is set to add two new firefighting robots to its fleet. Presently, there is one such robot procured in 2019. The robot is stationed at the Fire Brigade’s headquarters in Byculla. The new robots will be stationed in the eastern and western suburbs. A senior fire brigade official said, “Firefighting robots can be used in cases that are too dangerous for a firefighter to engage with in the beginning. The robots are remotely controlled with mounted cameras and a high-pressure water dispensing system. They can make access for a fireman easier.”