Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Fire Brigade held two emergency review meetings on Thursday to assess their response to the July 15 car fire incident in the Mumbai Coastal Road’s undersea tunnel and identify measures to prevent a repeat of the panic that gripped motorists.
Event Context
While officials maintained that the tunnel’s safety infrastructure functioned as designed and ruled out any major shortcomings on their part, they discussed a series of measures, ranging from changes in emergency coordination to public awareness, mock drills and enhancements to communication systems.
The meetings were held a day after a moving car caught fire in the southbound tunnel of the coastal road, filling sections of it with thick smoke and triggering panic among motorists. While all five occupants of the vehicle escaped safely and no injuries were reported, several motorists abandoned their vehicles and fled, while others took U-turns in the tunnel in an attempt to escape. The incident also led to the temporary closure of the tunnel.
All suggestions discussed during the two review meetings, along with other recommendations, will be compiled and placed before BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide for consideration before a final decision is taken on implementing the proposed measures, officials said.
Team Analysis
Officials also proposed increasing the number of fire extinguishers inside the tunnel and making them more visible. At present, the extinguishers are installed below the emergency telephones, but suggestions have been made to relocate or better mark them so they can be easily spotted and accessed during emergencies.
The authorities will also examine the feasibility of permanently stationing a fire engine inside the tunnel, officials said. For now, a fire engine remains stationed at the coastal road control room at Breach Candy for quicker deployment when required.
Officials maintained that the tunnel’s safety systems operated as intended and attributed much of the panic to motorists being unfamiliar with emergency procedures, evacuation routes and tunnel exits.
“The infrastructure worked as it was designed to. The biggest challenge was how people reacted during the incident. If that is changed, we are hopeful that the panic we saw won’t be repeated, and we have come to realise that we have fallen short in educating people about what to do in such a situation,” an official said.
Match Outlook
Officials said commuters would be informed about the use of emergency telephones to alert the control room, the location and use of cross passages to evacuate to the opposite tunnel, and the steps they should follow. This is expected to be done by the start of August, officials added.
The issue of a misting or sprinkler system also came up during the meetings after it drew public attention following the incident. However, senior BMC engineers clarified that the tunnel is not equipped with sprinklers but with Saccardo nozzles, which are part of its ventilation system. Installed near the tunnel portal, these nozzles generate a high-speed stream of fresh air to control airflow and push smoke in a particular direction during emergencies.
“If sprinklers are introduced, both systems could interfere with each other. However, since we have received several suggestions on this, we will undertake a feasibility study,” a senior BMC engineer said.
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According to officials, one of the key outcomes of Thursday’s meetings was a decision to streamline inter-agency coordination. Officials said it was unanimously agreed that the response took longer because the coordination process was delayed.
“In the future, the coastal road control room will immediately alert the disaster management cell first, which will then coordinate with all other agencies. Since this did not happen this time, the response time effectively doubled,” said a senior BMC official, requesting anonymity.
Officials also reviewed the delay experienced by the responding fire engine after the emergency lane on the left was blocked by vehicles taking U-turns, thereby obstructing access.
Civic officials reiterated that the tunnel’s built-in firefighting infrastructure is designed to tackle most fire incidents without waiting for a fire engine to arrive.
“There are four hydrants installed throughout the tunnel, and we have suggested that firefighters can start operations using the hydrants instead of waiting for the engine,” a civic official said.
Among the major suggestions discussed were conducting regular mock drills and launching public awareness campaigns on social media and otherwise, to educate motorists on how to respond during such emergencies in the coastal road tunnels.
The public announcement system is also set for review after officials observed that evacuation messages were difficult to understand due to the echo in the tunnel. According to officials, the operation of the Saccardo nozzles contributed to the difficulty in hearing announcements clearly, and improvements to the communication system are now being examined.
