After fire gutted the third floor of the members stand at the Mahalaxmi race course on Thursday night, some members of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) that manages the race course have said that they had warned the fire brigade and the club itself that the building lacked fire-fighting systems।
The members' stand, a hundred-year old colonial structure made of stone, concrete and wood was built as an open stadium for watching the races। However, when sections of the three floors were proposed to be converted into cafeterias and air-conditioned lounges, some worried members had written to the fire brigade to find out whether the floors had fire-fighting systems, including fire alarms, in place.
Some RWITC members have now claimed that fire and smoke alarms have still not been installed and that if fire protection installation had been in place, the damage to the building would not have been as extensive as it was।
Between January and April 2002, a member had written several letters to the chief officer of the Mumbai fire brigade warning the air-conditioned lounges and the cafeterias could be fire hazards। Members had even said that the lounges could hinder movement of spectators in case of an emergency. The fire brigade had conducted an inspection of the premises after the warnings.
Earlier in November 2001, another member, major (retd) S K Lamba who was allotted space on the third floor to construct a lounge and cafeteria wrote to the fire brigade asking whether fire experts had cleared the proposal to construct the lounges as the structure was classified as a 'special building' under the city's development control rules as it was meant to be only a stadium। "If fire-fighting equipment had been installed in the building, the damage due to the fire would not have been so great," said Lamba.
Though no lounges were built on the third floor subsequently, liquor baron Vijay Mallya and industrialist Cyrus Poonawala have lounges on the first two floors। Each floor of the stand, including the lounge can seat around 300 people.
Confirming the lapses on the part of the committee even though there were concerns shown by the members, Vivek Jain, a RWITC's committee member said: "Since it is a heritage structure, we did not put in place a fire fighting system, but now after restoring the structure, we will ensure that this is not repeated। We were fortunate that the fire did not spread to other floors and in the stable area."
Though the cause of Thursday's fire is still not known, eye witnesses who had visited the building on the day the fire took place said that water-proofing work was going on in the building। The material used for the water-proofing work was bitumen, a highly inflammable material. "The bitumen was lying on the third floor and was being heated on gas stoves," said a RWITC member who had visited the building on Thursday.
Anil Sawant, chief fire officer said, "At this stage, it is difficult to predict the reasons for the fire। We are in the process of recording statements of club members and employees. We will gather proof from the scene of the accident to investigate the reasons. If we find anything suspicious, we will carry out a few forensic tests. The primary reason should be known within the next two or three days."
The race season is expected to begin in November and since the monsoon has set in, it is doubtful whether the member's stand would be restored by then.
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