LIGHT AT THE END OF A DARK TUNNEL

What saved The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower from turning to ashes in last week's terror attack, was its architecture. A significant portion of the hotel's sixth floor caught fire late on Wednesday night after terrorists set one room on fire. Had any other structure suffered a similar attack it would have been reduced to ashes. The building is still standing today because of its marvellous architecture, complete with a huge atrium, proper ventilation, large windows.

ATRIUM

The building has a large atrium, or open space, in its centre, which prevented the fire raging on the sixth floor from lapping up the entire building. Had there been lesser space, the fire would have spread to the floors below. However, because of the large atrium, the fire could only rise. Hence, while the sixth floor has been destroyed, there has been little damage to the fifth floor. The floors below are nearly intact, except for the mess created on the ground floor.


WINDOW

The large windows in the lobbies and galleries facilitated the fire from getting out. .


GIRDERS

Another factor that has managed to keep the building standing tall are its girders - supporting beams - which have stood the test of time and fire. The fire officer said that those prevented the roof from caving in. Considering that the building was built at a time when wood was the predominant material used for the basic framework and decoration, most of the balustrades are still standing erect, and are only charred a bit.


FIRE RESISTANT DOORS

Fire Resistant Doors (FRDs) are thick wooden doors which are layered by fire-resistant materials. These doors are so powerful that not only did they not crumble down, but also prevented the fire, raging in the corridors, from entering the rooms.
The Sea Gull Lounge on the sixth floor which was shut, for instance, hasn't suffered any damage. One of the rooms near the dome was saved because of the hotel's marvellous FRDs, and around 40 people were rescued from that room.


MATTRESSES

The mattresses in the rooms of the hotel are also made of special fibre and foam that prevent fire from spreading. Hence, the charring was restricted, rather than a fire spreading from the bed to the rest of the room.