'Fire safety rules flouted in B'luru building'

Two days after a fire left nine persons dead at the Carlton Towers in Bengaluru, fire brigade officials on Thursday said that several rules related to safety standards were violated in the commercial complex, making rescue operations difficult.

Some passages in the building, including emergency exits were blocked, making it difficult for people to escape and fire brigade personnel to rush in, a senior fire brigade official said. Moreover, there were also several inbuilt modifications. The mandatory requirement of leaving a six-metre gap for drive in during emergencies was not in place, he said.

Storing 10 barrels of diesel on the terrace for use in generators was one of the most blatant violations, as also failure to maintain the fire fighting system, he said, adding that  several more lives would have been lost had the blaze not been extinguished before it reached the diesel.

Though the building had a fire fighting system, it was not well maintained. The overhead tanks did not have water and the sprinklers were not working. He said rescue efforts were hampered by the huge traffic jam surrounding the area and it prevented them from bringing in the 121-foot turnaround table, which could reach the 13th floor, and the hydraulic platform.

The official said that some passages in the building and staircases were all filled with some kind of obstruction, making it difficult for rescue operations and prevented faster evacuation of people.

 "Moreover, thronging crowds also created hurdles in rescue work. They upset all our operations," he said.

Some people jumped without following instructions from the fire brigade, even before the safety mat could be arranged, he said. Lack of knowledge on how to escape during a fire and basic safety measures by people trapped inside the building only compounded the problem, he added.