Mumbai fire: 25,000 people, artistes, horses in ‘line of fire’ — all safely rescued

“I saw some sparks and immediately realised that a fire had started. I ran up to the stage to alert the dancers to get off and then went backstage to clear the people from the green room area where the vanity vans were parked,” said Chief Fire Officer P Rahangdale. By the time people realised, he added, the fire had already started growing at the seaside venue due to a high winds.

Apart from the winds, the fire got aggravated within minutes due an LPG cylinder blast. By now, evacuation was in full force.

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The raging fire soon burnt the tyres of the two cranes that were holding the lighting equipment above the stage. The two fire engines stationed at the venue were then called in to manage the fire on the stage.

The process of evacuation, meanwhile, was a relatively smooth one. Rahangdale said a point to note was the organised manner in which all the guests stayed clear of the cordoned area as they moved out. “There was good coordination with the police as well as the volunteers on site who helped evacuate the people and also remove the metal detectors to clear the access for fire engines,” he said.

The additional fire engines and tankers called in from 14 fire stations across the city, which were delayed owing to traffic congestion, were able to control the fire by 9.46 pm and ultimately put it out by 11.24 pm, after which the cooling process began.

“There were some hurdles to get access to the fire because of the bamboo structures and metal detectors, which had to be removed. After the fire was doused, we removed the planks that had been burnt in the fire and completed the cooling process by about 2.30 am,” said Kailash Hiwrale, Deputy Fire Officer.

According to BMC officials, about Rs 4 crore was spent on creating the stage that comprised mostly of cloth and wood among other decoration material. A diary entry has been made at the D B Marg police station and samples of the debris sent to ascertain the cause of fire. Senior officers are now waiting for the BMC’s report following which the police will probe into the possibility of sabotage, if any.

Meanwhile, it was the monotonous safety drill, done repeatedly by the police, which officers claim came in handy on Sunday night. The “perfect coordination” was attributed to the fact that everyone in the police knew their role. The rescue operation carried out by the Mumbai Police and firefighters won them plaudits both online and offline.

“As soon as the fire went off, our men, who had the evacuation procedures ‘drilled in their heads’ began the process of evacuation. In the confusion that ensued, once they realised that a fire had broken out, several people had forgotten their bags and other valuables they were carrying. While they initially fled, some of them starting coming back to find their belongings. Our men stopped them from coming back and also deterred any outsider from entering the beach premises. All our men started directing people, nearly 25,000 as per the capacity, outside through various exit points to ensure people did not come into each other’s path and there was no fear of a stampede,” said an officer.

There were over 600 dancers and performance artistes who were actually in the direct line of the fire. The police also helped them break the green room and all of them ran towards the sea.

Once the evacuation was taken care of, the police focused on containing the fire. The biggest headache were the eight diesel generator vans that were parked right next to the stage. “The stage was already up in flames and we were worried that if the wind changed direction and the vans caught fire, it would have been a disaster,” recalled an officer. The first challenge was to find the drivers of these vans who had the keys. “We located the drivers, but they were so scared that some of them could not even enter the key in the key hole. Majority of these vehicles were then pushed by fire brigade and police officials away from the stage,” said the senior officer.

According to authorities, there were at least 12 horses who had been brought to the Chowpatty since Saturday. They were lined up across the tinned barricades put up on the shore. “The horses were part of one of the performances. They were with their caretakers close to the stage. When the fire broke out, the barricades were broken for people to escape. The caretakers were also alerted to take the horses to a safe spot ahead at the beach. None of the horses was injured,” said a police officer.