NEW DELHI: The 17 deaths in the fire at a hotel here in February last year were due to the lack of awareness about the safety arrangements among the occupants and not due to inadequacy of those systems, the fire department told the Delhi High Court on Monday.
The fire department, in an affidavit filed before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar, has said that during the fire-fighting operations on February 12, 2019, when the tragedy occurred, it was found that “the incident took place, not due to inadequacy of fire protection arrangements, instead it was due to the lack of awareness among occupants and hotel staff”.The department has said that Hotel Arpit Palace, where the incident took place, has two exit staircases and a fire safety system was also provided in the building premises.