Talking to The Indian Express, Meerut DIG R K Vishwakarma said the organisers ‘‘took care’’ to install 70 fire extinguishers, only that the flawed set-up made the fire spread too rapidly leaving no chance for the people to use the extinguishers. Vishwakarma, in charge of probing the fire, said the overloading led to a short-circuit causing the fire.

Meanwhile, the hunt is on for Lakhanpal Tomar, the main organiser and owner of Mrinal Events and Expositions who set up the event. Tomar is a prominent businessman of the city dealing in property, but he is absconding along with his family. His house in the posh Sarvodaya Colony is empty.

‘‘We have named him and two of his managers in the FIR. They earlier organised a few small-scale fairs in the city, but this was the first big fully-AC fair. We are also looking for the electrical contractor — a specialist we believe was called from Mumbai — given the fact that the fire broke out due to electrical overloading,’’ said Vishwakarma.

Meerut District Commissioner Mohinder Singh said the probe into the lapses leading to the tragedy would take some time. The Indian Express on its part did a spot check, with a copy of the UP Fire Safety guidelines in hand, to know what went wrong:

EXIT GATE EVERY 50 FEET PLUS AN EMERGENCY GATE

• FOUND: The fair was in an area of 20,000 square feet, slightly bigger than a football field, calling for at least a dozen exits. Instead, three conjoined pandals, fully covered from above, were set up in a U-shape, with just one entry-cum-exit gate of four feet width at the start of Pandal number 1.

50% OPEN AREA IN THE STRUCTURE, MINIMUM COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL.

• FOUND: All three pandals were fully covered from above with no open area. Smoke had no escape route and caused asphyxiation deaths. There were loads of combustible material — wooden flooring, synthetic cloth pandals, wooden pillars, lots of thermocol for good cooling and LPG cylinders.

SEGREGATION OF EATING AREA, WHICH MUST BE OPEN FROM TOP

• FOUND: The eating area was exactly in the middle of the second and third pandals. As cylinders burst, they created a fire wall and it became impossible for people from third pandal to rush towards the exit gate.

FOR BIG FAIRS, KEEP FIRE TENDERS AT SPOT

• FOUND: No fire tender was at the spot. Meerut Fire Safety officials said they were never contacted for clearance. Tenders took almost 30 minutes to arrive.