Prajakta Kasale mailbag@ mid- day. com A DAY after the Mumbai Fire Brigade rescued 17 residents of the Las Palmas society following a fire on the fifth floor on Wednesday, its chief has said the firefighting system of the building was not connected to an alternate electricity source.
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u201c This is the situation with old buildings. There isnu2019t any barrier that stops smoke from spreading to the upper floors. In such cases, the staircase passage, meant to be an escape route, converts into death traps instead,u201d Mumbai Fire Brigade chief Prabhat Rahangdale said. He added that there was a fire fighting system, but it was useless without an alternate power supply as the main electricity connection to the building was cut off following the fire. Rahangdale said a detailed investigation has been initiated and the fire brigade will send a notice to the society office about the non- working condition of the firefighting system.
Recounting the incident, Surendra Jadhav, a house help who works at a seventh- floor flat, said, u201c When we opened the main door of the flat to get out of the building, we felt a hot blow of air and everything was covered in thick smoke. There was no electricity too.u201d He used a pipeline to climb down to save his life.
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