THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fire which broke out recently in a two-storeyed commercial hub on the Power House Road at the East Fort region in the city has once again highlighted the need to revisit the fire and safety systems installed at various high-rise buildings in the city. Although the Department of Fire and Rescue Services had served notices to more than 1,300 buildings in the district which lacked the basic fire handling equipment, none of the owners have rectified the errors.
The notices were served to the high-rise buildings, commercial complexes and houses for violating the Disaster Management Act. In the recent fire accident at the Umbrella Mart, more than 35 mini mist water fire tenders were deployed at the East Fort region. However, due to technical problems in accessing the place, it became a daunting task to control the fire. “According to the Kerala Municipal Building rule, a building cannot be built in a manner which makes evacuation difficult during an emergency. Most buildings in the East Fort region did not satisfy the fire safety norms. Despite notices served to shop owners, they did not rectify the inadequacies in any manner,” said R Prasad, director (Technical), Kerala Fire and Rescue Services. He also said the damages were more due to hoards of materials stacked up inside the godown for the reopening of schools.
Similarly, when a fire broke out near Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, the district administration had given notices to the traders who failed to satisfy the safety norms. Although the owners of the buildings have been asked to find an evacuation route and install fire extinguishers, some shops still don't have a fire extinguisher which is the minimum safety measure to be taken.
Those who fail to abide will be directed to the district fire officer who can serve a notice to the violator. If the violator refuses to rectify, they will be directed to the district collector who will serve another notice. “Despite multiple warnings given to the owners of high-rise buildings, there has been no change. Now onwards, we are planning to conduct strict fire audits so that such fire mishaps can be handled in future. As manpower is an important factor during rescue operations, the department is also working towards increasing the number,” said Prasad.
District fire officer, K Abdul Rasheed, said regular inspections will be held at fuel outlets, buildings, hotels and shops to check for fire safety. Awareness will be spread on the measures to be taken during such fire accidents.