‘Fire-fighting, rescue ops fell short’

Municipal commissioner reviews response to Mantralaya blaze; blames operational hurdles for uncontrolled spread of fire.

Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte, on Monday, expressed dissatisfaction at the response to the June 21 fire at the state secretariat.

“The fire brigade put its best efforts, but the outcome showed that it failed,” Kunte said.

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“Fire could not be confined to a few yards from where it was caused. Rescue operations too fell short as five lives were lost in the incident.”

The municipal commissioner had a three-hour debriefing session with representatives of all agencies involved in tackling the Mantralaya blaze.

Kunte, who also heads the disaster management committee of the civic body, took stock of the fire-fighting operations, and disaster control mechanisms that were activated after the fire.

He assured citizens that the incident was being investigated on priority, and a report on the cause of the fire and reasons behind its spread would be compiled soon.

Kunte told journalists that officials faced obstacles at various levels of operations, which allowed the fire to spread beyond control.

“Hurdles that these agencies faced in tackling the fire, be it in terms of resources or coordination, were brought forth and discussed at length.

A cumulative effect of all these obstacles [was] the reason behind the uncontrolled spreading of fire,” said Kunte.

The civic chief also asked agencies to make rectifications.

“Wood panelling within the building was a major hurdle in halting the spread of fire. The chief engineer of the public works department has been asked to look into it. Fire retarding materials need to be installed in cabins,” Kunte added.