Mumbai: Fire experts flag non-functional fire systems in buildings

In what was termed as a burning issue pun firmly intended fire experts and civic officials came together to focus on fire safety They addressed both an online and physically present audienceThis social sanchar meet was headlined lsquoAre you shortcircuiting on fire safetyrsquo and was held at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club Colaba on Tuesday evening It was organised by VCAN VCitizens Action Network a nonprofit designed to create linkages between government officials and peopleRajendra Chaudhary outlines the role of technology in firefightingIndrani Malkani VCAN chief explained in her introduction at the outset ldquoUnfortunately Mumbai is no stranger to fire One of the major reasons for fires is short circuits When we are not compliant or conscious of safety measures we have disasters like firesrdquoAlso Read Mumbai Colaba residents turn up noses at lsquosmellyrsquo Sassoon DockUnsafe renovationsFirst up Rudreshwar Malkani shared from Ajit Kumar Jainrsquos paper Jain former additional chief secretary Maharashtra who was supposed to moderate the discussion was absent Yet he did share his views which were read out by Malkani It said ldquoOver the past 20 years we have seen monumental growth in construction in the city We now have buildings competing with the Eiffel Tower in height Firefighting becomes a huge challenge Then we have old buildings which pose yet another challenge as they do not have open areas fire refuges or firefighting systemsrdquoJain also cautioned ldquoInternal renovations and alterations in homes are done in the name of interior design Yet some of these can pose fire hazards if there is improper wiring and false ceilings Fire safety inspections in all buildings are mandated by the rule book twice a year through licensed agencies The compliance report has to be sent to the fire department This is not being done If it is done at all passive features like wiring or fire escape routes are not considered at the time of inspectionrdquoTech talkHemant Parab the man in the hot seatmdashliterally since he is chief fire officer BMC Mumbai Fire Brigademdashsaid in his presentation ldquoMumbai has 27000 persons per square kilometre and we have four million structures under different planning authorities We have 35 fire stations in Mumbaimdash15 in the city 13 in the western suburbs and seven in the eastern suburbs We have introduced 19 mini fire stations toordquoThen Rajendra Chaudhary technical advisor to the Mumbai Fire Brigade explained ldquoHousing societies are very dynamic and changing constantly and our firefighting technology has to keep pace Unless you have a good very modern fleet of machines you cannot deliver during emergenciesrdquoChaudhary through slides showed different fire trucks used for various classes of fires ldquoWe do not have enough water in our fire hydrants here so the fire brigade has to carry its own waterrdquo he explained showing a jumbo fire truckAs Mumbai buildings shoot up into the sky the expert added ldquoOur tallest ladder is up to 90 metres which is 30 floors We are trying to bring in drone technology for firefightingrdquoChaudhary said ldquoWe even have a fire robot Where sending in personnel is lifethreatening there are robots to do that job These can be used effectively when there is a fire in the basement or in chemical industries The Mumbai Fire Brigadersquos technical capability is at par with any developed countryrdquoWrap upAll panellists while outlining firefighting challenges and efforts stressed the citizen factor Parab added ldquoWe have fire volunteer training where we are training the public We have trained hospitality industry staffers and we also have an LPG awareness programme We train housewives on reaction to gas leakage At least 70 per cent of fire calls are due to electrical originsrdquoSince the electrical origin which meant shortcircuits was pointed out Dinesh Khonde chief electrical inspector Maharashtra said ldquoWe have recently issued an advisory for elevators and a safety advisory for electrical charging vehicles too which will be on the website for the publicrdquoArvind Mandke former chief fire officer Thane Municipal Corporation redflagged nonfunctional and poorly maintained inbuilt firefighting systems saying they are very challenging for firefighters who enter a building to battle a blazeThe twohour presentation wrapped up with Parabrsquos words of wisdom ldquoWe canrsquot do it all on our own Please gather reliable information Participate in our drives spread knowledge and be vigilant Fire safety is everybodyrsquos responsibilityrdquo