Gujarat: How a lobby fire in Rajkot building killed 3 non-residents

The Rajkot Fire and Emergency Services (RFES) received the call at about 10:17 am. Station Fire Officer Ashoksinh Zala, who is acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DyCFO) and directing the firefighting operations said that it took one and a half hours to control the blaze.

No certificate in a decade

The Indian Express has now learnt that the building neither had a Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) for a decade, nor did it have a functional fire safety system. The only small saving grace was that the fire extinguishers were still working but that was not enough to save the lives of the three visitors who lost their lives because they were at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Speaking on this, Zala said, “The building in question had obtained a Fire NOC in 2013 and renewed it only once in 2014. There is no documentation of further renewal since then.” Notably, FSCs were called No Objection Certificate (NOCs) at that time.

Non-operational fire riser system

On the non-operational status of the fire riser system with hoses that is installed in the building and is supposed to be used by firefighters in such situations, Zala said, “A fire riser system is installed in the building but it was not working due to the absence of a motor to transport water through the system.” Notably, ACP BJ Chaudhari said that fire extinguishers were working and had been used during the incident.

On action to be taken by the RFES, Zala said, “We will be sending the building a notice under section 10(k) asking them to get their fire riser system in working condition and renew their FSC.”

Cause and propagation

“Primarily, we believe the fire started due to a short circuit in the junction box on the sixth floor. The exact reason for this is yet to be ascertained by FSL,” said ACP B J Chaudhari.

While the presence of inflammable materials in the lobby of the sixth floor due to design work was believed to be the cause of fast propagation of the fire, ACP Chaudhary clarified that the actual design work was underway at one of the two apartments on the sixth floor and not in the lobby and that since it was a festival (Dhuleti), the workers were not working that day and all the materials were safely locked inside the apartment where the fire had not even reached before it was doused.

On the materials that possibly propagated the fire to encompass the entire lobby area of the sixth floor, ACP Chaudhari said, “The entire lobby including the electrical panel, was covered with wooden paneling. We believe that once there was a spark in the electric panel, the wood caught it and that led to the conflagration. The fire then spread to the ceiling which was covered with POP, further increasing the intensity of the fire.”

How victims lost their lives?

Of the two cousins who died in the blaze, Kalpesh Leuva was a Blinkit delivery partner and Mayur Leuva was his cousin who was accompanying him.

They had gone to give delivery to the 10th floor. The third person who died was Praveen alias Ajay Makwana, who was a Swiggy delivery who had gone to the eighth floor.

The surviving victim, Kavita Darji, is househelp in the adjoining building but she was going to the eighth floor in Block-D where here sister-in-law, also a househelp, was working. She suffered minor injuries and is out of danger, said police officials.

On how it was just these non-residents who fell victim to the blaze ACP Chaudhari of Rajkot City Police said, “All the victims had gone up in the lift. The three men had gone to make deliveries and the survivor is a househelp. They were all in one of the two lifts that was supposed to be used by workmen and delivery persons. When they reached the eighth floor where the deceased Praveen alias Ajay Makwana was to make his delivery, they saw smoke rising up from the floors below them. On the other hand, the lift stopped when the electrical current to the lift got cut off due to the fire on the sixth floor.”

ACP Chaudhary added, “From CCTV footage located outside the lifts, we have seen that these persons got scared and began climbing down the staircase in an attempt to get out of the building. However, when they attempted to cross the sixth floor, they were trapped by the fire and three of them lost their lives.”

On the action ahead, ACP Chaudhari said, “We are awaiting reports from the fire services, FSL and related departments. Meanwhile, we are reviewing documentation and taking statements of people there. If we find there was negligence, we will take action in the matter.”