Fire safety: 236 notices issued in 3 months……sharvari Patwa
After inspecting malls, multiplexes and highrises due to the rising number of fires in the city, the civic administration has issued over 230 notices for non-compliance of fire safety norms.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) fire department has issued 236 notices in the past three months to various shopping malls, high rises, industrial estates for not complying with fire safety norms, said officials.
We have issued notices in the past few months as during our checking we found that malls and other buildings do not comply to fire safety norms in full force, said Deputy Chief Fire Officer A N Shinde. Sometimes fire safety equipment is poorly maintained or improper, he added.
The BMC has given notices to malls such as Heera Panna and Orchid Mall in South Mumbai, Big Bazaar in Lower Parel, Nilgiri Industrial Estate, Harikishan Das Hospital in South Mumbai among many others, according to officials. These malls and buildings have been given 120 days to respond and make necessary changes, failure of which might attract legal action from the BMC, said officials.
We have started inspections across Mumbai in the past few months and a team of about 60 officers from the department are mandated to check safety measures of atleast one building in a week, said Shinde. It is imperative to check the building for the smallest details because a malfunction in any equipment can lead to severe damage in case of accidents and fires, said Shinde.
The measures and checks have been heightened for the past few months following major fires and accidents in the last few months including the Goyal Shopping Centre fire, HDIL fire, Dadar flower market fire. A lift accident in a highrise in Matunga in December which killed six people has also raised concerns over safety norms in highrises, say officials.
Following the release of the bi-annual report on fire in December last year, the civic standing committee had also raised concerns and directed the Fire Brigade to conduct regular checks and inspections. According to the report, over 1,200 fire incidents were recorded in the six months from May 2010 to October 2010.
The civic administration has also decided to carry an audit of coaching classes, which are usually built in small spaces. The BMC has also decided to form fresh guidelines to ensure that no fire accidents occur in these tutorial classes.