Bombay House fire: Fire brigade to slap notice on Tata Group

Mumbai, Feb 21 (PTI) The fire department will soon slap anotice on Tata Group for allegedly flouting safety norms atBombay House, the headquarters of the Group, where threepersons were killed in a blaze early this month.

"We will soon issue them (Tata Group) a notice forviolation of fire safety norms at the building. Defectiveshort circuit system and blocking of ventilation space in thebasement was the cause of the fire," chief fire officer UdayTatkare told PTI.

Fire broke out in the basement of the Bombay House, theheadquarters of the Tata Group, in south Mumbai, killing threepersons, on February 9.

"We have found that of the 50 windows in the basement 33were closed, 20 were boarded with plywood and 13 were used forinstalling air-conditioners and exhaust fans. The main reasonfor the death of the three men was suffocation," Tatkare said.

However, the fire department will not impose any penaltyon the group, he informed.

Built in 1924, ''Bombay House'' has head offices of amajority of Tata Group companies like Tata Power and TataMotors, which owns marquee brands like Jaguar Landrover. Theoffices of senior Tata management officials, including groupChairman Ratan Tata, are also located in the same building.