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.