Faulty horn modification may have caused Mumbai Coastal Road tunnel car fire: Preliminary report

After a car caught fire in the Coastal Road tunnel on Wednesday, people took away the keys and abandoned cars delaying the fire brigade. Illustration/Uday Mohite

A day after a Maruti Suzuki Ignis caught fire inside the tunnel of Coastal Road, the fire department's preliminary report stated that the customisation of the automobile's horn may have sparked the incident.

Umesh Palande, divisional fire officer, south zone, told mid-day, "When we recorded the statement of the owner, Sudhir Nair, he explained that he had changed and customised the car's horn. That raised suspicions, so we checked if there were possibilities of this being the cause of the fire. We learnt from experts that it is a possibility. As far as the primary investigation is concerned, what could have happened is that the wiring work done during the customisation must have been faulty, leading to damage. This might have impacted other wiring in the system, especially that related to petrol, which could have impacted the engine, resulting in the blaze." While a complete investigation report will take at least five days, this was the primary suspicion shared by the fire department.

Internal systems

The Maruti Suzuki Ignis in which a fire broke out inside the Coastal Road tunnel on Wednesday afternoon. PIC/By SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

While some systems did work, others couldn't be used due to a lack of knowledge among citizens. "The entire tunnel has enough portable fire extinguishers. But they are placed inside boxes. Thus, many couldn't be located, and people did not know how to use those that could be found. However, the tunnel's linear heat detection system, which gets activated on sensing a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, worked well. This system was the reason that we could locate the exact fire spot inside the tunnel," said Palande.

Saccardo to the rescue

Palande mentioned that the Saccardo ventilation system installed inside the tunnel was of great help in getting rid of the thick smoke. The system comprises three heavy-duty fans, two functional and one on stand-by, each generating high-velocity winds that drive away smoke in either direction.

Water difference

Sprinklers could have also made a difference. "We do have a hydrant line, which we manually enabled after reaching there and used. But, according to the engineers of the Saccardo system, having a sprinkler system that automatically starts functioning after sensing fire compromises their ventilation system's functioning. A midway is now being studied to avoid such accidents in future," said the officer.

Directions given

Meanwhile, the fire department has directed road officials to remove all extinguishers from the boxes and hang them on the walls of tunnels so that they are visible to commuters. "We have also asked them to keep all ventilators on during the peak hours [7 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 9 pm]," said Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar.