Unaware of the extent of suffering inflicted on her family by the basement fire, six-year-old Shalini waits outside the mortuary to meet sister Sandhiya; aunt Durga remembers how she was looking forward to seeing three-year-old son Sanjay join school next month
CHENNAI: Six-year-old Shalini, clad in a blue T-shirt and white shorts, held her aunt’s hand tightly, waiting outside the mortuary at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital. Unaware that her sister, cousin brother, grandmother and great grandmother died in a fire accident, the little girl was eagerly waiting to see them.
“I don’t know what my sister is doing inside and they’re not allowing me to meet her,” said Shalini. Aunt Durga lost her three-year-old son Sanjay.
Meenakshi (60) resided along with her daughter Selvi (45) and grandson Ayyappan (19) for many years in the same building at South Perumal Kovil Street which leads to the famous Vadapalani Murugan Temple. On Sunday evening, Selvi’s daughters — Latha, who resides in the next street and Durga, a resident of MMDA Colony — had left children Sandhiya (10) and Sanjay with her as they were going out.
“We (Durga and husband Vasu) are dancers and perform at small stage shows at functions. On Sunday, I left my son at his grandmother’s place, as usual. On Monday at around 4.30 am, the neighbours had informed me over the phone about a fire breaking out in the building. My husband and I immediately rushed to the spot only after which we informed fire and rescue officials that my family was trapped inside. By then, the officials had brought them out. Had they known earlier, the chances of survival would have been greater,” said an emotional Durga. “Sanjay was to join school next month. We had got the application recently and were excited to watch him go to school.”
Latha works as a flower vendor and husband Chandru is a daily labourer. Selvi’s son Ayyappan, who also works as a driver, sustained 60 percent burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at KMCH. The family were to attend a temple ceremony on Tuesday.
Sandhiya was studying in Standard V in a private school in the same locality. “The children would often come to visit the grandmother and great grandmother. Selvi was very affectionate towards them. On Sunday, she had bought Sanjay new clothes and made him try them,” said Lakshmi, a friend of the family.
How to install a fire detector
While installing a detector, the building is divided into three zones (the first floor is zone two and second floor is zone three). All the detectors within the floors should be connected to the main control panel and during smoke, the exact place can be detected.
Apart from this Manual Call Point (MCP) will be placed near the exit where during a fire or smoke a press on the MCP will pass the alert to the control panel and will raise an alarm and people can evacuate.
Dos and don’ts during smoke or fire
React as soon as you hear the smoke alarm go off: If it’s night time, yell for people to wake up.
Safely exit through doors: In the case of smoke under a door, avoid that way. In case, there is no smoke, put the back of your hand up to the door to make sure it doesn’t feel hot. Then open it slowly and pass through it. If the door is hot or there’s smoke under it and there are no other doors to pass through, you will have to try to escape through a window.
Protect yourself from smoke inhalation: Get low to the floor or crawl on your hands and knees to evade smoke.
Beware of LPG: In case of LPG leakage, it’s better to run because LPG is heavier than air and it will sink to the floor.
Ward off the smoke if you can’t get out: If you can’t escape your home and are waiting for help, don’t panic. Close the door and cover all vents and cracks around it with cloth or tape to keep the smoke out for as long as you can. Wave a white cloth from the window to signal for help.
Escape from a second story window, if possible: If you have a two-storey house, you should have an escape ladder that you can use. If you really must get out of the window, look for a ledge. Always face the building structure when exiting a window on an upper floor.
A few tips to ensure residing zone is safe
Any system of mechanical ventilation should be designed to ensure that in a fire, the air movement in the building is directed away from the protected escape routes and exits, or that the system is closed down as necessary.
Natural draft smoke venting shall utilise roof vents or vents in walls at or near the ceiling level. Such vents shall normally be open. If closed, they shall be designed for automatic opening by smoke sensitive devices.
Centralised AC system can engulf the entire building, as fire can easily spread via air conditioning ducts. Separate AC plants can be provided for each floor.
Power-operated smoke exhaust systems shall be substituted for natural draft vents only by specific permission of the concerned authority.
Designing and planning of the houses and flats play a significant role. Independent residential building should ensure adequate open space is essential.
There should be an adequate ventilation and air circulation mechanism. People should be more familiar with fire and rescue norms.
Where smoke venting facilities are installed, these shall be adequate to prevent the dangerous accumulation of smoke until the time of evacuation.
Discharge apertures of all natural draft smoke vents shall be arranged so that they are readily accessible by fire service personnel.