Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (Make installing of fire equipments compulsory) that was published in Newsband


Make installing of fire equipments compulsory
If fire can be the best friend of man, it can also become the worst enemy. In today's world most of the things run on electricity and this has made man's life very comfortable. But at the same time, his life can be in danger in case things like short circuit etc. happen.
In a developed city like Navi Mumbai which is coming up as per international standard and which has a number of high rises already existing and many still coming up, it is very necessary to make installment of fire equipments for these buildings absolutely mandatory. In keeping with the National Building Code, all residential societies and commercial complexes should install carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, escape ladders, fire staircases and fire frames to help fight fire and avert disaster.
The fact is that in many places in Navi Mumbai installing of fire equipments is compulsory and if any builder fails to provide these facilities to the buildings he has constructed then he cannot obtain No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department or Occupation Certificate (OC) from the concerned department. This is a good rule. This rule has made many builders to immediately install fire equipment facilities in their new constructions so that they get both NOC and OC immediately.
But is it enough to install fire equipments only when the new building is constructed? No. It is necessary to check from time to time whether these fire equipments which are installed are still effective even after a passage of time. If they are not effective, their renewal is necessary. In other words, one can't afford to overlook the maintenance of fire safety equipments, which are very essential for the prevention of fire. If these safety equipments are not maintained properly, residential societies are inviting disasters. Regular inspection and annual audits are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of these equipments.
The Fire department should send their men to all the societies and tall buildings in Navi Mumbai to check whether the residents over there are following fire preventive measures and updating fire preventive equipments. It is better to prevent fire from breaking out rather than fight fire after it breaks out. In an advanced city like Navi Mumbai, it is very essential to take all the precautionary measures in advance to prevent fire from breaking out since one has several times come across news items in newspapers which informs about the enormous losses caused by fire break-outs. In order to prevent these losses, every building in the city should install fire safety equipments.

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