A major fire broke out late night in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills Compound in Lower Parel leaving 14people dead and at least 19 injured. The fire started at the 1 Above restaurant after 12.30 am and it spread quickly, leaving the entire restaurant in shambles. The injured were rushed to the King Edward Memorial Hospital and some are being treated in KEM and Sion civic hospitals. Six fire tenders, four water tankers, and police rushed to the spot to get the fire under control. The restaurant owners have been charged with culpable homicide. The restaurant allegedly did not conform to any fire safety norms.

Kamala Mills is a swanky area of the city which had several commercial establishments and restaurants. The exact cause of the fire is still to be asserted. The postmortem reports revealed all the 14 deaths were due to suffocation, 11 of whom are females and 3 are males.

Fire officials said they got a call at 12.27 am and they rushed eight fire engines and water tankers to the spot. The fire was initially declared as a Level II fire but the way it spread, it was upgraded to Level III. The fire spread across and affected two more diner-pubs. In fact, a new house in the same building stopped their broadcasting as their equipment was damaged.

Reports state the building did not have a fire exit, so the people in the restaurant were trapped and suffered death due to suffocation. Such an incident once again brings to light the frequently violated fire safety regulations.

2017 has seen several fire infernos- the iconic RK Studios caught fire in September, a slum near Bandra station was charred in the fire in October, an under construction building in Vile Parle also caught fire causing severe burn injuries. At the start of the year, there was fire reported at a slum near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus disrupting the central railway services.

All of these incidences have caused life loss along with major property damage. Negligence is the most common cause but it also very important to have fire safety norms and the mechanisms in a good working condition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 08, 2018 12:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).