Mumbai: Fire Safety is the new mantra in Maharashtra after awareness about fires in dwelling structures using low-quality power cables that often cause short-circuit was noted and the Maharashtra Government recently passed a Bill mandating stringent regulations for fire safety in residential and industrial buildings.
Increasing fire incidents and related tragedies witnessed the Government ushering in the “Fire Safety Bill” for 22-plus floored buildings including residential and industrial structures with hazardous activities that mandated appointing a fire safety officer along with setting up an IOT fire safety mechanism for 24/7 monitoring of potential fire incidents.
The Bill has also mandated a “bi-annual fire safety audit” to assess preparedness with violators facing upto three months imprisonment and penalty of Rs 1 lakh.
Dr. P S Rahangdale, Retired Deputy Municipal Commissioner – Disaster Management (MCGM), Ex-Chief Fire Officer (Maharashtra fire Service said “ASCI data noted that around 73% of all human fatalities in past 10 years were caused by electrocution due to electrical fires, while human error not the electricity was the culprit.”
“However, a lesser known truth is that during a fire breakout, smoke inhalation kills more people that the fire itself, and though the new Bill highlights fire safety guidelines, the emphasis should be on addressing the underlying issue of using “appropriate wire, cable and electrical fixtures” in residential and commercial property.”
“During a fire, the Chimney effect boosts fire smoke and impairs visibility alongside depleting oxygen, which impacts the affected person’s decision-making process,” he said while noting that the fire audit of buildings needed to be strictly carried out, besides also having the proper fire safety mechanisms.
“Fire safety is a critical feature for any structure including hi-rise buildings, constructions, hospitals, educational institutions and educational institutions. Electrical issues and short-circuits have been identified as one of the main causes that call for proper precautions including implementing strict penalties against developers who use poor-quality wires and cables,” he said, adding that there are also +challenges to implement this due to lacuna in Laws+ to address this issue.
Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director, RR Kabel, said that after road accidents, fires caused the most number of fatalities and 105 people died in India’s biggest fire. Even today, people are unaware that during fire incidents, the smoke from electrical mishaps was more dangerous than the actual fire itself, he said.
Rajesh Kabra, MD, RR Parkon, said “We had a fire in our office that caused complete damage including to our computers that had no data backup systems, while leaving us painfully aware of lack of proper fire safety equipment in the market. Also, awareness about related changing technology was not reaching end-users.”
“Today, through an over-two-decade effort, the R R Kabel company is highlighting strategic measures including creating quality cables and wires that have high fire resistance and low but non-toxic smoke – unlike in many other wires and cables being used even today that produce toxic smoke,” he said, adding “We are encouraging use of “Low Smoke, Zero Halogen” (LSOH) wires which do not release any hazardous mixture of gas, acid and smoke in fire accidents.”
Jitendra Mehta, President, CREDAI-MCHI (Thane), while welcoming RERA’s role in the construction space and noting that developers are being governed by many related factors, highlighted the need for a fire-conscious society that focused on prevention and life safety in fires.
