How ‘negligence’ gutted offices in Mumbai high-rise: Greed and safety lapses turned property worth crores into ashes in Jogeshwari | Mumbai News
MUMBAI:A fire raged on Thursday in a 13-storey commercial building in Jogeshwari, which had flouted safety norms and allegedly lacked an Occupation Certificate.It took 8-10 fire engines and scores of fire brigade personnel four hours to contain the blaze at JSM Business Center in Behrambaug. There was no casualty though 27 people were rescued and treated at Jogeshwari Trauma Hospital for symptoms of suffocation.The cause is yet to be determined, but according to tenants, the builders had carried out illegal alterations in the structure at almost every level. A functional fire-fighting system was also missing.The fire at Jogeshwari’s JMS Business Owners Association broke out at 10.41am on the ninth floor before engulfing the top storeys up to the 13th floor housing a physiotherapy centre filled with patients. Anxious images of people waiting in balconies and waving their arms, shouting to be rescued, painted a shocking sight.“The building does not have an Occupation Certificate (OC) because the fire safety norms were not followed,” said Nilofer Parvaz, a member of the JMS Business Owners Association,who’s been campaigning to correct the situation. She then later registered an FIR at Oshiwara police station Thursday.Fire brigade personnel from Amboli arrived on site to conduct rescue and firefighting operations. Initially termed a Level-I fire, within minutes it escalated to Level-III. Once again, the double whammy caused by an external glass facade and numerous internal alterations proved a death risk.The 10-year-old building, developed by Sirajuddin Shaikh and Maqsood Jethwa, had 104 units but violated all norms for space utilisation, said shop owners and tenants.“The builders have not complied with regulations. They have not fulfilled fire norms, hence not received an OC. They have been exploiting buyers, and today, it is their negligence, rather greed, that has gutted so many offices,” said Nilofer Parvaz.Another shop owner Firoz Qureshi said the three-storey parking area had been rented out for commercial use as well. “One lift had actually collapsed to the ground. Recently, the lifts were not working for up to two months. People had to climb up to 13 floors. I granted a few staffers permission to work from home,” he said. “The basement has been given to Zepto for its storage hub. The firefighting system is dysfunctional. No fire sprinklers are installed, and there is no adequate space for small fire vehicles to enter. There is zero safety compliance.”Parvaz said there was no provision for water either. “Builders like this should be banned. Even after Thursday’s fire, they did not care to visit the building. Their architect came and simply said they have applied for OC,” she said.Chief fire officer of Mumbai, Ravindra Ambulgekar, who was personally manning firefighting operations, said 8 or 10 fire tenders were deployed. Businessmen like Rehan Tejani, who had stocked goods for Diwali season, watched their wares worth crores go up in smoke. “I did not keep my goods in warehouse fearing damage by stray crackers. Who would have thought they would be destroyed in my office,” he sighed. “The cause of fire will be determined after probe. But we will issue notice to the building for the lack of a functional firefighting system,” said Ambulgekar. “The building was not centrally air-conditioned, so we had to break the glass facade for ventilation. There was heavy smoke logging. Besides, the terrace was locked,” said a fire official. “While a stray firecracker is suspected, it will require forensic investigation.”
