By Dhruvi Shah
The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane, a club located in North Goa, has been linked to several technical issues. Fire Safety Compliance and associated Infrastructure (building structure) were part of many issues connected with this incident. Furthermore, the combination of combustible materials in the facility, insufficient ventilation, and lack of operational fire suppression systems allowed the fire to spread on January 16, 2020.
In accordance with a report from “Fire Dept. Emergency Response”, the fire department arrived at Birch’s facility this evening at approximately 11:45 PM; the fire was raging throughout most of the structure, having already destroyed the entire basement and 1st floor – approximately 3,000 square feet (300 sq. m.) in total. The sheer size of the conflagration, along with the continued efforts to suppress the operations, meant that fire department personnel worked on putting out the fire from approximately 23:45 until 04:45 the next morning.
While the Fire Department was able to respond in a timely manner, the lack of structural integrity (due to design and construction deficiencies), coupled with systemic failures, caused the events associated with the incident to be extremely catastrophic, resulting in the loss of lives. Additionally, Birch failed to obtain a valid No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department, which was evidence of Birch’s noncompliance with minimum safety requirements, thereby exacerbating the risk associated with Birch’s operations and adding to the conditions resulting in fatalities.
Several causes resulted in several of the fatalities from the basement area. These causes are due to inadequate ventilation, blocked egress, hazardous smoke build-up and the confined space. All four of these factors created an unconcealed lethal area within the basement for an individual who was trapped in the basement. All of the deceased were consigned to their fate due to the exposure to toxic gases and oxygen-deficient environments that would accompany fires in confined spaces. The report indicated, “Tenable conditions deteriorated significantly within minutes of when they initially developed.”
The fire developed rapidly from an initial fire to a fully developed fire due to the combustible composition of the building’s interior, such as wood-framed walls and leaves, to a large extent. In addition to the various combustibles present, there were reports of electrical shorts above the stage area where the fire started and fireworks that were being used for the event at the front of the building just prior to the outbreak of the fire.
The Fire Department has characterised the incident as a failure of fire prevention engineering and of compliance with the state fire regulations. Out of the approximately 45 individuals located within the venue, 20 were rescued, but due to how quickly and intensely the fire grew, there was limited opportunity for the remaining patrons to escape the building. In response to this incident, calls for increased enforcement of fire safety regulations on the Goa nightclubs have been renewed.