A massive fire incident in the ICU of a civil hospital in Maharashtra has drawn attention to the fire fighting safety system infrastructure of buildings in India.
Past such incidents have shown that most of the fire accidents occur due to three major reasons: short circuit and gas cylinder/stove burst, human negligence and bad habits.
Fire fighting System Structure in India:
- Fire service is a subject in the state list. It has been included in the Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution under Article 243 (W) as a function of the Municipality.
- In 2003, after the Bhuj earthquake of 2001, the Union Ministry of Urban Development expressed its desire to formulate Model Building Bye-laws for the safety of buildings and for the guidance of the State Governments.
- Part 4 of the National Building Code of India, 2016 is titled “Fire and Life Safety”. It covers qualifications related to fire prevention, protection of life from fire and fire safety of buildings.
- This Code specifies construction aspects, exit requirements and safety features regarding construction sites and free space for buildings. All these are necessary to avoid possible damage to life and property in case of fire.
Source – The Hindu