Kamala Mills Fire: Untrained staff pointed the wrong way

Many lives could have been saved if the staff at 1 Above, the pub that was gutted in the fire on Friday, had fire safety training or presence of mind to guide the revellers to an open space that was just steps away.

In what is a shocking revelation, fire officials found that the staff was untrained and lacked presence of mind. It was observed that the toilet area where many people took shelter, actually had an open space just 10 steps away to it.

If the 1 Above staff had guided the crowd to the open space that could easily accommodate 15 people, they would not have suffocated to death. All 14 people who died were suffocated, and not charred to death, doctors clarified on Friday.

An official who did not wish to be named told DNA, “It is observed that mere lack of proper guidance by the 1 Above staff, the chaos due to extreme rush took 14 lives. There was an open space for the restaurant and also a passage where the crowd could have escaped, but someone guided a few people in the opposite direction.”

Not only this, fire officials said that investigation was becoming laborious because the employees of the pub who were present during the tragedy have been unreachable. Eye-witnesses are also not willing to cooperate.

The fire brigade started investigating the cause of fire and reasons behind the extreme escalation in a very short span of time. The coal used for the hookah is being considered the primary reason. However, the alcohol, fire-friendly flooring, the tarpaulin sheet and bamboo also seemingly aided in the speedy escalation of the fire.

“The 1 Above staff have their locker room hardly 10 steps from the toilet area where people took shelter. Ahead of the locker room was a terrace area- an open space where 15 people could have easily been accommodated. If any of the staff had guided these people towards the locker room, from where the open space was approachable, these people would have survived till the fire brigade arrived”, the officer added.

“If if they were guided towards the lift, they would have survived. There are open spaces in the fire locations, which were not much affected,” he added.

An employee of Mojo Bistro narrated how he helped guests from Mojo escape and was the last person to leave the spot. He told them how people in 1 Above were trapped as they were not guided to the correct location.

3 BMC NOTICES IN ONE YEAR

1 Above opened in 2016, and by October this year, it had been issued three notices for violations. Mojo’s Bistro was also issued multiple notices by the BMC regarding unauthorised construction

ONLY IF...

• If the 1 Above staff had guided the crowd to the open space that could easily accommodate 15 people, they would not have died
   
• All 14 people who died of suffocation, no deaths because of burn injuries