Malls only 10 per cent safe, says chief fire officer

Safety inspection of malls in city not conducted regularly owing to acute shortage of staff in fire brigade

Strolling through a mall will give one something to think about if the truth is known. Many malls do not follow fire and safety norms laid down by the state government and the fire brigade is so severely short-staffed that it is able to inspect only 10 percent of the establishments in it's jurisdiction.


Not safe? A retail shop on Alandi road caught fire yesterday.
Pic/Jignesh Mistry

The fire at More Mall on Alandi road yesterday brought the true situation to light, as fire brigade officials maintained that they are facing a severe shortage of staff to conduct inspections of malls and other establishments in the city. They claim that their officers are busy attending to fire calls everyday and are unable to be dispatched specifically for inspections. This is also leading to malls flouting fire safety norms, which in turn creates major problems for the fire brigade in the event of a fire.

Yesterday's fire was attributed to an electrical short circuit and the fire brigade took 30 minutes to douse the fire because the mall did not have all the fire safety measures in place. Officials of the fire brigade have prepared a report alleging that the mall management was negligent about its security measures.

No ventilation
Fire officer Ramesh Gangad, attached to the Yerawada fire station said, "The ventilator ducts were inaccessible since racks loaded with goods were blocking them. As a result, the fire spread through the entire 1,900-sqft area of the mall, filling it completely with dense smoke. Fire brigade personnel had to break the racks leading to a delay in operations."

"We received a call at around 6.15 am and rushed two fire engines and eight firemen to the spot to douse the flames. It took the team 30 minutes to bring the fire under control but all the electrical wiring including furniture and the ceiling of the mall was damaged. There were no employee inside the mall at the time of the incident, and hence no injuries were reported.

Imran Shaikh, manager of 'More', refuted all allegations against him saying that all necessary precautions had been taken. "We have a fire alarm installed on our premises. Whenever an alarm goes off, we immediately call the fire brigade," he said.

Partial Inspection
When contacted, Chief Fire Officer Prashant Ranpise said, "We have a limited number of officers to carry out inspection work. This is doubly difficult since even they are deputed at various fire stations and are busy attending to regular fire calls everyday."

"We have been carrying out random checks twice a week, but that only covers 10 percent of what actually needs to be completed. We have issued notices to all malls and establishments for violating fire and safety norms," Ranpise said. He said that mock drills at regular intervals are helping to ascertain how many are maintaining fire safety systems at their places.

"With the enactment of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, which was enforced across the state on December 6, 2008, the fire brigade has been authorised to issue notices, cut water and electricity supply and further prosecute those failing to abide by the norms laid down," said Ranpise.
'Following norms'

When contacted, the manager of SGS MALL said, "We are following all norms laid down by the municipal authorities, but we can't reveal anything more than this."

Fire brigade budget
Budget for 2009-10:
Rs 29 croreu00a0
Budget for 2010-11:
Rs 29 crore
Rs 8 crore spent on personnel salary per year
Last year hydraulic pump sets and lights were purchased, while this year a new hydraulic platform worth Rs 13 crore was purchased.
Total strength of fire brigade: 500 firemen and officers
43 recruited last yeaar, out of which only 15 have joined

Norms to be followed
'u00a0Malls should first obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire brigade, which should be renewed every year. The NOC mentions the total number of fire safety equipments in place, depending on the size of the mall.
' Besides installation of fire safety equipment, the management should also ensure that all systems are in working condition. Alternative routes should be made available to ease rescue operations.
' Security personnel or employees of the mall should be trained to use safety equipment.
' Ventilation shafts should be made available to give way to accumulated smoke, which helps in curbing the spread of flames.
' Gas cylinders should not be stored in one common place.
(as told by fire officers)

Voices
I don't think all the malls are fire-proof, but some big malls do take precautions. The fire alarms are installed at every level if it's a 2 or 3 storey building such as SGS and Nucleus mall. They also have smoke alarms and security personnel at the entrance and do not allow any combustible material inside.
ufffd Vaibhav Toke (22), MBA student

"I have seen fire extinguishers, alarms and CCTV cameras installed in the malls. But I don't know whether they are functioning. Mall administration authorities may be keeping a check so that no untoward incident occurs"
ufffd G Chandra Shekhar (23), Advertising student