Even before the smouldering fire died down at the Kamla Mill compound in south-central Mumbai where 14 persons were killed on Friday, a major blame game broke out between the owners of the two dining restaurants-cum-pubs that were reduced to ashes, with each of them claiming that the fire emanated from the neighbouring establishment.
“The facts of the incident, as seen by our staff, indicate a rising fire that began to emanate from the adjoining quarters to 1Above. We presume the unmanageable nature at the preliminary source of the fire resulted in its escalation to our property where all owners, staff and restaurant management from 1 Above engaged immediately in clearing the crowd from the establishment,” a statement put out by 1Above Management said.
Claiming that their fire-prevention set up was in a proper shape, 1Above Management said: “1Above has all its fire safety regulations, licenses, procedures and norms in place - we have been able to help save many lives thanks to our fire safety protocols and are grateful to our staff for their presence of mind and help in this time of crisis”
“There was no escape from Mojo’s Bistro therefore we believe that all their guests were told go through the premises of 1Above as we have an emergency exit. Hence patrons from Mojo's Bistro also began to rush into our premises as we helped the Fire Brigade that had arrived at the scene to evacuate guests,” 1Above Management claimed.
In its statement, Mojo's Bistro statement said: “Mojo's has all its fire safety norms, certificates and procedures in place. The staff are thoroughly trained in fire drills hence our staff were able to evacuate all our guests and themselves out to safety with zero injury. There were NO cylinders on our premises. We are fully complying with the authorities to help in any way we can”.
One of the senior officials, who was at the mishap, said that the fire broke out first at the “1 Above” pub on the terrace and spread to Mojo pub on the third floor one level below. The officials also claimed hookah was illegally made available to their patrons in one of the affected restaurants.
Dr Sulbha Arora, a gynaecologist who was among those who survived the the mishap, said that she was at the "1 Above" rooftop restaurant for dinner with friends when the fire broke out.
“The #KamalaMills fire started at 1 Above. I was there and barely made it out alive. Some were not so lucky. Praying for the injured and the deceased. It was the scariest thing I have ever survived! There was a stampede and someone pushed me. People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don't know how I got out alive. Some powers were definitely protecting me," Dr Arora tweeted, recalling her ordeal.
Yesteryear actress and Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan put the fire mishap in perspective when she said: “I have been to Kamala Mills, it is like a bhool bhulaiaya, has narrow lanes. So obviously there has been negligence”.
In a related development, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) functionary Mangesh Kalaskar claimed that he had complained to the BMC on October 11, 2017 that the restaurants in Kamala Mills were illegal. “ But I got a reply from the concerned BMC department that everything is legal in Kamala Mill compound. ..The people responsible for the mishap are the owners of the restaurants, the owner of Kamala Mills and the fire department. They should be charged with murder,” Kalaskar said, as he displayed a copy of the complaint that he had made to the BMC.