It has now come to light that the Wafa medical stores in Andheri’s Juhu galli, which was gutted by a fire on Thursday, was functioning illegally.
It has now come to light that the Wafa medical stores in Andheri’s Juhu galli, which was gutted by a fire on Thursday, was functioning illegally.
The BMC had conducted a routine inspection of the medical store earlier last month. When the on-duty sanitation inspector noted several discrepancies, the BMC issued a prosecution notice to the medical shop on June 15, for failing to present a no-objection certificate (NOC) for health clearances.
The two storey building also had several other structural irregularities. It had only one narrow staircase as the exit from the upper floors of the building, which ended not in the lane below, but within the shop itself. This became a major hurdle during the fire which started in the store, as family members sleeping on the top floors could not escape the building.
A civic official who did not wish to be named said, “This is the case with most shops and houses in slums or semi-slums around the city. They are housed illegally on the ground floor of homes. The structures are so crammed that there is hardly any space to ensure that fire safety apparatus is in place.”
Meanwhile, sources from the fire brigade also said the electricity meter of Wafa medical store was overloaded, which may have led to the short circuit, the suspected cause of the fire. However, the exact cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet.
An official from the fire brigade said, “We have seen record fires which are caused due to illegal or old structures not adhering to fire safety norms.
The Hotel Kinara Fire and the Kalbadevi fire are some examples. Most fires can be avoided by taking these basic precautions.”
