Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, May 29: A major fire today reported from ‘The North Reef’ Hotel of Port Blair city early this morning, leaving as many as 39 in hospital and one three year old dead. As per report the fire was reported from Hotel North Reef’s store room at around 3.15 AM and soon entire Hotel was covered with thick smoke, because of which guest found it difficult to evacuate the building.
However the experts claim the fire might have started by 1.30 AM and thick smoke took time to fill staircase and corridor area, later entering inside room, only after which the fire was detected.
Guests claim that the main door of the hotel was locked from inside and no staffs were present at the entrance to assist them, which caused further problems for them, many suffered suffocation while one tourist jumped from the window of his room, because of which he suffered some injurious. Tourists allege that there was no emergency exit in the hotel.
According to the Director of Health Services at Port Blair’s G B Pant hospital nearly 7 people are admitted in ICU while nearly 18 people are admitted in different wards while 14 people were treated as out-patients.
Meanwhile, the Chief Fire Officer of Andaman and Nicobar Fire Services, Mr. Saukat Husain, said that when Fire service team reached the spot they found many tourists were lying on the floor because of thick smoke and breathlessness while most of them were coughing badly.
Fire Service personnel broke the front glass panels and brought public out. Ladders in Fire Tenders were also used to bring out the guests from the hotel, sources said.
Meanwhile as a knee jerk reaction the Andaman Nicobar police has arrested the owner of the hotel and further investigations are on.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands neither have Fire Safety Regulation nor Fire Act, making the Fire Service a toothless body. As per sources, the proposal for Fire Safety Regulation has already been sent for approval but it has not been approved yet.
WHERE DID THINGS GO WRONG?
Many believe that despite knowledge of loopholes in Andaman’s Fire Safety, our administration did almost nothing regarding this issue. Local media of Andaman Nicobar Island had highlighted about the issue that Andaman Nicobar Islands neither have of Fire Act nor Fire safety regulation, local administration till now has taken any visible steps to finalize the proposal of implementing one.
Due to absence of fire regulation or Fire Act, the Fire Service of Andaman Nicobar Island has almost become toothless, because they cannot take any action against people, who are violating fire norms.
Most importantly in absence of proper fire safety norms nobody can force any businessman or private person to follow fire safety regulations in their buildings or hotels. As a result a lot of hotels in Andaman have been constructed by violating fire safety norms. Expert believe that long back Andaman Nicobar administration should have finalized the Fire Safety Regulation or Fire Act in Andaman Nicobar island for the safety of people of Andaman Nicobar Island but for reasons unknown this matter is being delayed unnecessarily.
The Andaman Fire Services has several times sent proposal for implementation of Fire Safety Regulation or Fire Act but till now no positive output has come out hopefully this accident will serve as a alarm call and the Administration will wake up and notify Fire Safety Regulation for Andaman Nicobar Island and make mandatory for all the buildings to follow fire safety norms so that accidents like this never happens again.
