Claiming that it had all the fire safety regulations in place, the ‘One Above lounge and pub, where a massive blaze killed 14 people on Friday said that the fire emanated from the “adjoining quarters” to the establishment.
At midnight, Khushbu Bhansali brought in her 28th birthday with her husband and family members at the One Above lounge and pub. Barely an hour later, she was killed in the fire that broke out in the restaurant around 12.30 am.
At least 14 people died, including 11 women, and 19 others were injured when a major fire broke out on the top floor of a building inside the Kamala Mill compound in Lower Parel .
“The facts of the incident, as seen by our staff, indicate a rising fire that began to emanate from the adjoining quarters to One Above lounge and pub. We presume the unmanageable nature at the preliminary source of the fire resulted in it’s escalation to our property where all owners, staff and restaurant management from One Above lounge and pub engaged immediately in clearing the crowd from the establishment,” it said.
After preliminary investigations into the cause of the fire, the Mumbai police registered a case of culpable homicide against the owner of an establishment named One Above. The fire broke out in the One Above eatery and engulfed neighbouring establishments.
The management of the ‘One Above lounge and pub claimed that there were over 10 fire extinguishers and “adequate fire safety signatures” in the premises as is required by the authorities.
“No fire safety norms were followed by the pub and the management did not make any arrangement for the safe exit of its customers during the blaze,” police said.
Meanwhile, a civic official told media the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had taken action against the pub more than three times for “violations”.
According to the official, the pub had obtained the fire safety and building permissions from the civic body in October 2016.
