Shoe factory didn’t follow guidelines: Fire officials

According to Mehra,the entire industrial belt in Peeragarhi consists of 300-400 factory units,75 per cent of which comprise shoe-manufacturing units. The rest,he said,belong to pharma,engineering and steel fabrication units.

“As the Fire department was aware of the fact that the units here are prone to frequent fires,it should have set up fire stations close to the industrial unit for speedy service,” he added.

Fire department chief A K Sharma said,“We have set up fire stations in the area,and they are located in areas where we get the entire view. Next to the Peeragarhi industrial belt is the Jwalapuri fire station — only five minutes away. Everytime a fire erupts in the city,a minimum of two fire stations are alerted. That way,even if one of the tenders breaks down,the other will be able to reach the area on time.”

The Fire department has primarily expressed concern over how factories stack goods on the corridors,restricting people’s movement. “In this case also,workers had stacked material along the corridor — which could have otherwise served as escape routes. Also,to create extra space,the workers had made tin sheds,which were highly unstable,” said Sharma.

“All entry and exit points of the factory were blocked. Many more could have escaped if the passages were clear,” said Sharma,adding that most disasters occur due to the carelessness of the factory owners.

The factory owner and director joined investigations and were arrested thereafter. “We have arrested Singla and director Subhash Khullar (60). Singla is a resident of Shivaji Park and Khullar,a resident of Punjabi Bagh,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) V Renganathan.