CHENNAI: Fire safety awareness, particularly in high-rise hotel buildings, is fast catching up in Chennai following the recent Mumbai terror attacks.
The St. John Safety and Health Society, an NGO, in cooperation with the Tamil Nadu fire and rescue department proposes to conduct awareness programmes in about 80 hotels in the city. They conducted their first programme about fire safety and emergency procedures at Hotel Savera here on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, Namasivayam, assistant divisional fire officer, underscored the need for community participation in ensuring fire safety. He said the tendency for blame game should go.”It is not just the government’s responsibility to ensure safety but every citizen should have a communication set up which ensures his safety.”
He explained that the government set-up was very small to cover the entire population. “ We cannot prevent disaster sometimes but we can be well prepared for it. The goal should be to maximise safety and minimise impact,” he observed.
Safety management, Namasivayam elaborated, comprised three factors: prevention, protection and response. The response time to any disaster was very crucial.
Talking about the Mumbai attacks, he observed that more damage was caused in hotel Taj compared to Trident because the sprinkler system was not efficient in Taj. Anotherreason for more damage in the hotel was a result of “technical fault” but the same system was very efficient at The Trident. At the same time, the fire-shed doors at the Taj were very effective in containing the fire too, he recalled.
He said new technologies and CCTVs alerted the managements of establishments in cases of accidents. In the event of a fire accident, one should keep in mind the right chronology of steps one should take. “It is “very important to do the right thing first”, he said and added: “Don’t forget to dial 101.”
Kalaiselvi, assistant director in the department of Preventive Health and Medicine talked about the “DONE’ concept: Don’t panic even in life threatening situations, Observe the surroundings, Networking, and Excellence in utilizing the available resources efficiently in a limited time period.
A.G.Mourya, deputy commissioner of police, Mylapore observed that the fire department is vested with the objectives to protect people, property and process. He said the space around any establishment is meant for public movement. But people extended their commercial establishments and encroached on the public space. This, he said, caused difficulties for rescue operations to be carried out in case of a disaster.
The St.John Society also conducted a demonstration on how to carry out the rescue operations in case of a fire in high-rise buildings. The rescue team of the Society, fire officials and hotel members gave a mock fire drill and explained the cardio pulmonary rescue process.