Fire Safety: Fire re-ignites safety debate in highrises | Bhubaneswar News
According to the Agnishamaseva portal of the state govt, there are 14 fire services sections within the city limits, which receive the applications for granting of fire safety certificates to buildings, including schools, hospitals, commercial and residential.
Out of the 14 fire services sections, only the chief, range, deputy and assistant fire officers have received applications for approval of fire safety to different buildings while the rest of the 10 offices have received no application at all.
As per data, the four fire services sections have received a total of 1,167 applications for granting of fire safety certificates of which only 523 certificates have been granted so far, which is almost 50% of the applications received by the fire services department.
In the meantime, the apartment fire in Patia on Thursday is the third such incident in this particular locality in the past two months. In March, a fire broke out in a commercial building at KIIT square and just a few metres away, a godown caught fire in April.
Though the action of the fire services personnel was commendable for their promptness in dousing the flames, residents have demanded a random audit of all buildings, especially highrises for greater safety.
“Many highrises in the city do not possess occupancy certificate, which is a proof that the buildings are not fit to live. Lacking an occupancy certificate may also mean that the buildings do not possess a fire safety certificate,” real estate activist Bimalendu Pradhan said.
Urban planner Dipu Nanda said fire safety audit is a must for public buildings which is done periodically but it should be done for the private buildings like apartments too. Fire safety norms should be followed in spirit, Nanda said.
Janmejaya Rath, a resident of the private apartment which caught fire on Thursday, said the situation was horrible. “We could see only smoke. We thought we will be trapped here forever,” Rath, a corporate employee, recounted.
We also published the following articles recently
Three Muslim youths, including Mohammed Noufal, Mohammed Basil P, and Russel P, helped extinguish a fire at a Hindu temple near Tirur in Malappuram with the assistance of fire and rescue department authorities, while passersby watched.
