A midnight fire at a club in Goa’s Arpora village, set off by fireworks that turned the building into a death trap, claimed the lives of 25 people early Sunday morning, including four tourists from Delhi and 21 employees of the establishment.According to police, the control room received the first distress call at the club, Birch by Romeo Lane, at 12:02 am and the emergency response system was activated.The fire put the spotlight on an establishment that appeared to have turned a blind eye to the many corners that had been cut — from the club lacking requisite licences to red flags that had been ignored to a woeful absence of fire safety measures.Addressing a press conference on Sunday evening, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that a preliminary inquiry indicated the fire was caused by “internal electrical fireworks”. Charred remains at the nightclub where a fire broke out due to a cylinder blast, in North Goa district. (PTI Photo)“There was no blast. The club furniture mostly consisted of wood and other inflammable material, which quickly caught fire. There were only two exits through which most people managed to escape. Those who could not escape… went towards the underground (basement) kitchen area to protect themselves from the flames, and suffocated,” he said.Read | Migrant workers majority of dead in Goa club fire, families left with a question: Why did no one save them?A video taken moments before the tragedy showed the club’s roof light up as a belly dance performance was underway. Eyewitnesses The Indian Express spoke to said fireworks had been set off while the performance was on.Sawant said that 23 victims had suffocated while two bodies were charred. “I personally saw the bodies being removed, and they did not show any signs of burn injuries,” he said.Story continues below this ad The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane left 25 people dead and six injured.Questions and actionAs questions were raised about how the club was allowed to operate in the first place, Sawant said a magisterial inquiry has been initiated, and the report will be submitted in a week. “We have given strict instructions to the DGP that all culprits… those who gave permissions, those who organised it, club owners… will be booked,” he said.Four people — the club’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak (49), gate manager Priyanshu Thakur (32), bar manager Rajveer Singhania (32), and general manager Vivek Singh (27) — have been arrested. “Arrest warrants have been issued for the two owners, and a team has left for Delhi to apprehend them,” the CM said, adding that the chief secretary has been asked to initiate disciplinary action against officers who granted permissions. “Suspension orders will go out today itself, those who gave permissions, the one who gave it a consent to operate, the one who stayed the demolition notice, and the one who gave it a trade licence… all officers will be suspended, and a police inquiry will commence,” he said.Read | Killer Goa blaze a man-made tragedy, FIR spells it out: No fire safety equipment, no emergency exit, no licencesThe FIR charges the club’s owners, partners, manager, event organiser and other managing staff with culpable homicide. Among those named are the chairman of Romeo Lane, Saurabh Luthra, his brother Gaurav Luthra and unnamed partners. Also in the FIR are a series of glaring lapses: absence of fire safety equipment, no emergency exit, and lack of required permissions/licences.Story continues below this adThe accused, it said, operated the club “without taking proper care and caution, without providing fire safety equipment and other safety gadgets”. It said they “organised a fire show at their restaurant/club which resulted in a serious fire… in spite of having full knowledge that organising such a show may lead to serious fire accidents…”The FIR said the restaurant “did not have an emergency exit door on the ground floor as well as on the deck floor to evacuate in case of emergency”. It further alleged, “The said restaurant was found operating without obtaining permissions/licences from the competent authorities.” Four arrested; warrants out for owners: CM (Express Photo by Pavneet Singh Chadha)Red flagsAn incident report prepared by the Fire Department showed the club did not have a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the department.Story continues below this adMoreover, the sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa village panchayat, Roshan Redkar, alleged that the structure was built without procuring a construction licence. Redkar said the nightclub was run by Luthra, and there had been a dispute between him and the land owner, and another dispute with his business partners, leading to complaints. “After an inquiry, we issued a demolition notice… However, it was stayed upon appeal,” Redkar said. In the evening, Redkar was questioned by the Goa police regarding the demolition notice and subsequently released.When The Indian Express visited the premises shortly after the blaze, it found a structure that had telltale signs of a potential tinderbox. The basement, which housed the kitchen, led to the first floor via two staircases on either side. The first-floor exit opened to a narrow bridge on two sides, in the front and rear, surrounded by khazans – low-lying lands used for agriculture and aquaculture – near the Baga river.With no exit door or ventilation in the basement area, many employees who were already there, and some who rushed there seeking refuge, quickly found themselves caught in thick smoke.“A DJ had been scheduled to perform for patrons on the first floor around 10 pm. Around 11:45 pm, fire seems to have started on the first floor, which has a bar and a restaurant. In the ensuing panic and chaos, many guests ran towards the exit and reached safety. The staff members working in the basement were effectively trapped because it lacked an exit and was engulfed in smoke. Some guests also seem to have rushed towards the basement and got trapped,” said a senior officer.Story continues below this adThe employees who died were from Jharkhand, Assam, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka.