Building owners throw safety norms to wind, put lives at risk
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three major fire accidents in a gap of ten days in the district might be isolated incidents. But it brought to the fore the gross violation of fire safety norms in the buildings. Preliminary probe revealed short circuit as the cause of these mishaps, indicating the poor state of the electric circuit system in these buildings. It also revealed a startling reality, most of the buildings do not have a quick response system or a basic fire extinguisher.
On Monday, based on a Fire and Rescue team report, the District Disaster Management Authority issued a final warning to 14 building owners in the district found flouting fire safety norms. “As per the fire and rescue team report, all the buildings flouting fire safety norms are high-rise buildings and many among them are residential apartments. It is a matter of concern that these building owners are least bothered about the safety of the residents. We have given them a month to rectify, if they don’t we will take action including fines and prosecution proceedings,” Anu S Nair, Deputy Collector, District Disaster Management Authority, said.
“There are more such buildings and efforts are on to identify them,” A Hemachandran, Director General of Fire and Rescue Services, told TNIE. He also pointed out the substandard wiring in buildings as the cause of short circuits. Meanwhile, the commercial establishments had also been told to follow security guidelines while installing electrical power supply system. Surprisingly, many of them have ignored the guidelines.
The fire and rescue team report also pointed out the lack of necessary space required to facilitate easy access to fire tenders. This hinders the efforts of fire force personnel during fire breakouts. The report said emergency exits in most buildings are permanently blocked and the entry and exit points are not clearly demarcated. Similarly, fire-fighting equipment, which acts as the first line of defence, were found to be defunct due to lack of periodical maintenance.
Incidentally, Regional Cancer Centre and Medical College Hospital are also among those flouting norms. The violators will be penalised `5 per square feet with a minimum being `50,000. “Local self-governments should also check safety of the building before giving No Objection Certificate (NOC),” Nair added.
National Building Code (NBC) issued by Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) mandates adequate means of escape, clear pathways to exit doors and safe assembly points for buildings. It also insists installation of smoke detection systems, fire extinguishers/ fire sprinklers and use of flame-retardant materials for interiors. It also advises regular fire drills at the buildings.
The code also states that hazardous / combustible materials should be stored with proper precautionary measures inside the building and that the building should be accessible to fire-fighters. It also advises keeping the building & interiors plans handy. “However, compliance with NBC is the main factor,” says Aravind V, project lead, Construction Management, JLL Ltd, Bengaluru “The main objective of NBC is to specify measures that will provide safety from fire, is practical and can be reasonably achieved.
The Code insists on compliance with minimum standards of fire safety necessary for building occupants and users. For ensuring compliance of fire protection equipment/installations to the laid down quality requirements, it is desirable to use such equipment/installation duly certified under the BIS Certification marks scheme,” he adds. The third edition of the NBC was published in 2016. It incorporates the latest developments in the construction activities in the country.