BHUBANESWAR: Over 80 standalone bars and restaurants with bars in Bhubaneswar do not have fire safety clearance. These are the places hundreds of unsuspecting people walk in on a daily basis.
This startling fact has come to fore after the devastating fire at the Goa nightclub that claimed 25 lives. Reason: The Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017 do not make it mandatory for these premises to seek a fire safety certificate.
The rules prescribe the classes of premises of occupancies that can cause fire under section 9 and must apply for fire safety certificate. The standalone bars, pubs or those with restaurants do not come under the purview of such premises because these do not meet the specifications of building height, number of floors etc.
Sources in the Excise department said there are about 58 hotels and 82 restaurants in the state capital which have bars for customers. While Odisha Fire and Emergency Service sources said certificates have been issued to most of the hotels, the smaller pubs and restaurants do not have such certification.
There are two ways such commercial premises can seek clearance. It can either be a fire safety certificate as per the rules or a no objection certificate (NOC). Odisha Fire Service has jurisdiction over the hotels and fire safety certificates are issued to them. Smaller clubs, pubs and restaurants do not come under the purview of the department, said sources. However, most claim to be equipped with fire safety measures.
After the Goa bar tragedy, the fire services wing is planning to have a closer look at the fire safety compliance of similar establishments in the state capital to identify and fix the gaps. It has planned to carry out checks in the Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from December 13 onwards to find out whether they have a valid fire safety NOC or not.
Sources said, most of these standalone bars and pubs operate with trade licence from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). “If the BMC makes it mandatory for these premises to seek NOC from us, we can do the same. In fact, Central Board of Secondary Education has made it mandatory for certain schools operating on single floors to seek NOC and the fire services provide the clearance,” said the sources.
DG Fire Services Sudhansu Sarangi told The New Indian Express that the fire officers have been directed to ascertain if any hotel under their jurisdiction does not possess a fire safety certificate.
“An inspection will be carried out at the hotels with bar facility and accordingly action will be taken against them. Inspection will also be carried out at clubs and pubs and if any shortcoming is noticed, the authorities concerned like the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the Commissionerate Police will be apprised about the matter,” said Sarangi.
After identifying the gaps, a one-page advisory will be handed over to the owner of the facility where non-compliance of fire safety measures are observed. The document will also be provided to the licensing authority, the Excise department, for further follow-up action, he added.
Sarangi further said the aim is to complete the inspection drive by the month-end. Sources said there are about 120 bars/pubs in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The officers will inspect whether the establishments have emergency exit, fire detection system, sprinklers and fire extinguishers.