Mumbai: Blast in AC compressor may have led to high rise fire

Mumbai, Jun 7: The massive blaze in a high rise here that killed seven people and injured 18 others was caused apparently by a blast in an air-conditioner, preliminary investigation has indicated, as the metropolis grapples with another major fire tragedy in less than a month. The fire started following an explosion in the compressor of an AC on the 14th floor of the 21-storey residential building in Chandivali last evening and soon spread to the upper floors due to presence of combustible materials like wooden furniture and foam in flats, a Fire Brigade official said today.The incident comes less than a month after four firemen, including the city’s Chief Fire Officer Sunil Nesarikar, died while dousing a devastating blaze in a building in Kalbadevi on May 10. ”The fire may have been caused due to a blast in the compressor of an AC. But further investigation is currently underway and the real cause will be known only when we get all the reports,” Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale told PTI. The fire started at ‘Lake Home’ building in the upscale suburb at about 5.30 pm. Fire Brigade deployed 15 vehicles and ambulances to put out the inferno and rescue the trapped residents.
“The flames spread very quickly to the 15th floor due to the kind of wooden furniture and foam used in homes. Inferior quality stuff act like highly combustible materials. Strong winds only ended up fanning the fire,” Rahangdale said. He said small steps like ensuring that building ducts are sealed on each floor and fire sprinklers properly installed can go a long way in preventing such tragedies and loss of precious lives. ”One of the main reasons of carbon monoxide harming the residents on upper floors of a high rise is ducts. They need to be sealed on each floor so that concentrated air cannot go up.“One also needs to ensure that good quality furniture is used. There are low toxic foams and self-extinguishing electric cables that can be used,” he said. Rahangdale said it becomes difficult for fire-fighters to reach up to floors above 42 metres and thus fire sprinklers are essential to prevent blaze from spreading.“Initially, there was a lot of resistance to installing fire sprinklers. But it has now been made mandatory to have them (in tall buildings). Sprinklers will help save lives and property till we reach the accident site,” Rahangdale said. He said use of lifts should be avoided during fire as there are chances of people getting trapped in them in case of power outage or someone deliberately switching off electricity lines to prevent a bigger tragedy.
Of the seven deceased, five had tried to escape by taking the lift and perished even before the Fire Brigade personnel could reach the spot.