Notice issued to Cinevista studio over fire safety norms

Mumbai: Two days after the massive fire, which killed one person, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has issued a notice to the Cinevista studio at Kanjurmarg for not following fire safety norms.

It has also instructed the local ward office to cut the water and electricity connections of the studio.

“The notice has been issued under section six of the Fire Act as prima facie it was found that fire fighting system of the studio was not in working condition,” said RA Chaudhari, deputy chief fire officer.

 “Some other lapses were also found during the fire control operations,” he added.

According to fire officials, the studio authorities have been asked to comply with fire safety norms, following which another inspection will be done. If it is found that norms are still not complied, they will be prosecuted.

A massive fire had broken out on January 6, which gutted down the entire Cinevista studio. The following day, the charred body of a 20-year old man was recovered from the site.

The victim was later identified as Gopi Verma, who worked in the sound department.

“Several lapses were found in the studio during the firefighting operations. Sets in the studio were made of combustible material like plywood, wood and plastic. But no precaution was taken to ensure fire safety. Extinguishers were not there to control the fire. There was also

heavy use of electric lights, but precaution was not taken to avoid short circuits. The fire retardant paint was also not used in the studio. There was no segregation or compartmentation of studios to prevent the spread of fire,” said a fire official.

“We have also asked the S ward officials to cut the water and electricity connection of the studio as a part of the standard operating procedure (SOP),” he added.