Defective electrical circuit caused Mumbai mall fire

The fire investigation report of the Dreams Mall incident at Bhandup, which killed nine people, throws light on major lapses in the firefighting system of the mall and irregularities inside the premises and points to a defective electric circuit as the main cause of the fire. This newspaper has accessed the report. 

“After going through the statements of the first arriving officer and above eyewitnesses, my observation during fire-fighting and investigation and studying all the probable causes as well as observing the elimination method finally it is to conclude that the probable suppose of fire is derived as defective electric circuit” is what report concludes with,

On 25 March, a level IV fire had broken out around 11:57 pm in Dreams Mall, Bhandup, killing 11 Covid-19 patients.

The fire had quickly spread to Sunrise Hospital, a dedicated Covid facility on the third floor of the mall. At the time of the incident, there were over 80 Covid patients there.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer in the investigation report has stated that the fire originated at shop number 140 on the upper ground floor of the mall.

The probe report reveals that the mall’s fixed fire-fighting system was not in working condition and that if the system would have been functional, the fire could have been contained within the area of origin. The report says that the basic smoke detection system, fire pump and sprinklers installed in the passages of each floor and each shop (including the hospital) were not functional.

The report also points towards various irregularities in the mall and mentioned that the occupants of the premises had made alterations. Change of users and amalgamated and constructed lofts blocked light and ventilation in the building at various places too. Ventilation within shops was blocked by constructing walls or fixing ply including on the third floor where Sunrise Hospital was located.

During the investigation, it was also found that the mall’s passages were used for storing combustible materials. The report also shows no owner/occupiers of the shops produced any relevant documents regarding permission/approvals from concerned authorities.

The report also calls upon the delay in summoning the fire brigade as the reason why the fire went out of control. The fire had not been noticed at the initial stage and the delayed response worsened it. CCTV footage has revealed that the fire broke out at about 11.15 pm and the fire brigade control room received a call about it at 11:57 pm.

Bhandup Police on Thursday arrested Haresh Joshi, the proprietor of Pona Corporation, a government licensed agency, and Privilege Healthcare CEO Goerge Putthu Sherri with regards to the incident. Privilege Healthcare runs the hospital. After production, they were remanded to police custody till 10 May.

“It transpired that Joshi, in connivance with Sherri, submitted bogus fitness certificates to the fire brigade and obtained a NOC,’’ said DCP (zone VII) Prashant Kadam.

After the incident, the Bhandup police also booked mall owners Rakesh Wadhwan, Sarang Wadhwan, Deepak Shirke, Sunrise Hospital directors Amit Singh Trehan, Nikhita Amit Singh, Sweety Jain and other directors responsible for running the hospital, on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC 304).

Sunrise Hospital has refuted the charges, stating, “The mall and hospital are delinked and the hospital got OC only after being delinked from the mall. The hospital is located on floor 3 and has separate firefighting systems which were functioning. Even after it is amply clear that the mall administrator’s negligence led to the fire, the police have registered an FIR against the hospital. Why? Do doctors and frontliners ever cease to be soft targets in this country? Who will want to become a doctor and serve Covid patients when they get punished even after running a world-class facility, after obtaining all due permissions from the authorities. All these politicians who say that the hospital should not have been given permission were themselves referring difficult patients to Sunrise Hospital in December and January! When will this duality end?”