The Hindu : Fire safety trapped in `no escape' route

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 28, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Fire safety trapped in `no escape' route

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD April 27. When firemen were seen struggling to break open the windows of Shanti Shikhara Apartments in Somajiguda to rescue residents trapped inside following a fire accident last Tuesday, some thought it was part of a routine fire-fighting exercise. A majority of people might have already forgotten it.

But, this is not an isolated incident. Many a time firemen are seen battling to get inside a building engulfed in flames to rescue the occupants. The ghastly fire accident in a lodge in Osmangunj which claimed 11 lives in October last was a classic example.

The firemen had a tough time getting inside the lodge as the four-storied building had no escape route. They had to break the window panes and walls of the building to save those caught in the smoke and flames.

These fire accidents brought raised some questions about the fire-safety measures adopted in buildings. Does every high-rise building in the State capital have fire exits. If they do, are they in compliance with the standards prescribed by the National Building Code?

As per the NBC, all buildings shall satisfy certain requirements which contribute, individually and collectively, to safety from fire, smoke fumes and panic.

Compulsory construction of `escape or separate exit routes' at all high-rise buildings (both residential and commercial) is one such requirement. This rule was incorporated based on the deduction that more lives were lost or affected due to smoke, toxic fumes and inadequate exit facilities than actual burns in fire accidents.

As per the rules, the width of the exit staircase in residential, assembly (restaurants, banquet halls) and mercantile categories should be 1.6 m, 6.6 m and 3.3 m respectively for every 1,000 square metres area.

If the same building is used for both assembly and mercantile purposes (like departmental stores), the exit shall be sufficient for both, the NBC says. However none of these rules are being followed by the concerned authorities opined fire-safety experts.

The exit facilities become more critical in mercantile buildings due to liberal use of synthetic textiles for furnishing which are neither fire retardant nor non-inflammable. Usage of inflammable surface finishings and ceilings only aggravate the problem.

A majority of the buildings in the State capital lack smoke venting facilities. Though the NBC made it mandatory to provide fire and smoke proof doors at the entrance to lifts and staircases to prevent upward movement of smoke and fire, very few buildings have this arrangement.

As per the NBC, doors for the exit staircase should be kept open. But, in a majority of cases, these doors are found bolted from outside making it impossible for the inmates to go out in case of an emergency. Another violation of the fire-safety rule is with regard to compartmentalising each floor in a building to confine the fire to small areas and to impede spread of fire and smoke.

One can only hope that authorities will not wait for another `Uphar' in Hyderabad to heed the wake up call.

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