Thiruvananthapuram: Around 300 distress calls, including many cases of fire outbreaks, are reported at Rajaji Nagar fire station in the city every month. It is quite possible that one of the incidents can happen in a public institution like Vikas Bhavan or district court. However, fire preparedness in public institutions and residential apartments are worse, say officials.
Most public buildings were constructed before fire NOCs for buildings became compulsory and those above five years have no fire fighting systems. The condition is not any better in the newly constructed hotels, malls and apartments. “Manuals say smoke detectors need to be checked every week. Even a building which is less than 15 metres high must have static fire fighting system.
Most times standpipes (the red coloured pipes designated for fire fighting) have jammed valves and won’t be helpful for fire fighters. This happens because of lack of servicing,” said a senior official. A handful of hospitals and companies in Technopark conduct drills to make their staffers aware of escape plan. However, the occupants of government buildings and residential apartments never undergo such a drill .
Annually, most number of fire outbreak cases are related to short circuit. “Buildings which consume more than 100 kilowatt of electricity are checked by us for loopholes like faulty earthing and faulty electrical equipment but others have to rewire and replace equipment to ensure their safety,” said officials of electrical inspectorate.
