BHUBANESWAR: A day after fire erupted in an apartment building claiming three lives of a family under tragic circumstances, the incident has shed light on the gap in regulation for fire safety measures, particularly in buildings below 15 metre in height.
Such buildings do not come under mandatory fire safety certification regime of the Fire Services department.
The issue assumes significance as electricity consumption is at its peak considering the ongoing summer season and more multi-storey residential projects are being developed with EV charging facilities and higher power loads.
After inspection of the Basanti Villa apartment (S+4) in Laxmi Sagar, where the fire mishap occurred, Fire Services officials found that basic fire safety provisions, including fire extinguishers and proper water supply arrangements to tackle such emergencies, were not available at the facility. Preliminary findings suggested that the blaze may have originated from a short circuit in the electric panel located on the stilt floor.
Under the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017, framed under the Orissa Fire Service Act, 1993, fire safety norms and certificates are mandatory only for buildings taller than 15 metre or those having five or more floors.
Real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan said structural and regulatory shortcomings have left many residential complexes vulnerable to such mishaps. “As a result, a large number of four-storey apartment complexes in Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state, remain outside the regulatory ambit, with no mandatory requirement for firefighting systems, alarms or emergency exits,” he said.
Pradhan further pointed out that several developers proceed with projects without obtaining prior fire safety recommendations or no objection certificates (NOCs) from the Fire Services department.
“Several multi-storey residential complexes do not have proper sprinklers, escape routes or fire-proofing measures prescribed under the National Building Code, due to inadequate oversight and corruption,” he alleged.
However, Fire Service officials said, the Central Board for Secondary Education made it mandatory for schools, many of which do not meet the 15 metre norm, to get no objection certificates (NOCs) from Fire Services departments. “If such NOC is made mandatory, Fire Services wing can carry out inspection of residential and commercial complexes below 15 metre height,” said a source.
In fact, under new norms, third party fire safety audit has been made available which can be utilised by the builders and property owners, the sources added.
Bhubaneswar deputy fire officer Narayan Dash said they are working out a database of apartments and buildings where awareness campaigns on fire safety will be conducted in the coming days. “The Fire Services wing will write to both BDA and BMC urging them not to grant occupancy certificates or electricity connections to buildings lacking adequate fire safety measures,” he said.