425 to get notices by fire services

Dec. 1: The municipal officials found 425 buildings in the city had ignored norms of the fire department during construction and they will serve notices soon to the building owners to arrange fire equipment as per the guidelines prescribed by the government.
The VMC officials conducted verification of apartments and other structures in the city. Residential structures with minimum 18 meters of height and commercial structures with minimum 15 meters of height have to follow the fire norms.
The VMC would serve notices to these building owners to install fire extinguishers in apartments and buildings. As per the estimates, each commercial building has to spend Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for installing fire-fighting equipment. For residential buildings the expenses will be between Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh.
The equipment includes fire extinguishers, hose reels, wet risers, motor pumps, down comers and a separate water tank to extinguish the fire. Separate water tank should be built on the terrace of the building.
Fire pumps costs Rs 4 lakh and hose reels are useful to extinguish the fire in the nearby areas of the building. The hose reels are multi-purpose in nature, said Mr Murali Mohan, regional fire officer, who is supervising the verification of structures in the city. He said notices to be served to the owners of these buildings very soon asking the latter to install fire extinguishers.
Mr Murali Mohan said proposals are underway to sanction the building plan only after getting NOC from the fire department. He said prevention of fire is very important rather than suffering from disaster. He said the building owners have to pay fee of Rs 10 per square meter to take no objection certificate from the fire department.
The regional fire officer said fire equipment once installed would last for at least 20 years and protect the lives and property of the occupants. He opined awareness on the installation of fire extinguishers is increasing gradually and fire norms should be followed strictly to ensure safety of residents.
He said the fire department is ready to help people to bring awareness on fire accidents and disasters. If the respondents ignore the notices served by the VMC, the issue will be submitted to the court, he added.