It was back in 2011 that the TNFRS conducted a fire safety audit in about 150 commercial buildings in T Nagar
Tamil Nadu fire and rescue services' warning against shops flouting fire safety norms violations fails to trigger action in making the shopping hub fire proof.
Chennai: It is set to have the ‘Smart City’ tag soon but T Nagar lags far behind when it comes to handling a fire emergency. While the think tanks on the one hand envision developing a ‘smart’ T Nagar, the Tamil Nadu fire and rescue services department has emphasised on the need for the civic body to include plans integral to making T Nagar fire-proof.
Interesting suggestions like providing hydrant system, including pillar hydrants and water sumps on Ranganathan Street and Usman Road, which were made following the Saravana Stores’ fire accident in 2008, have not materialised yet.
For long, local residents have also complained about illegal alterations made to structures compromising the safety of shoppers and residents. Even for an untrained eye, it is quite easy to figure out that most buildings lack a setback area, a space that would allow fire tenders to go around and fight fire.
While the civic body is drawing up extensive plans to improve the urban mobility in the place, there are no signs of consideration given to developing a smart solution that would make the area less vulnerable to a fire disaster.
It was back in 2011 that the TNFRS conducted a fire safety audit in about 150 commercial buildings in T Nagar. More famously, it was then revealed that not one adhered to even the basic fire safety norms. “In four years, nothing has changed. The building owners have hardly complied to our suggestions,” said a TNFRS officer, requesting anonymity. The officer said that in 2014 at least three ‘serious’ fires have been put out in T Nagar.
A counter-affidavit filed by the director of TNFRS, in response to a Madras high court direction on a writ petition, noted that electricity was the chief cause of major fires and that most of it tend to break out in higher floors. However, these buildings run kitchen, store excess stocks or operate rest rooms in these upper floors, which are notoriously devoid of ventilation and has low roofing.
Another observation was that most buildings were found to not even have the two mandatory fire escape exits, which was in complete violation of the National Building Code of India.
The odd building, which had a fire escape staircase, had stuffed it with heavy storage goods thus rendering it ineffective for use during an emergency.
Together with the poor accessibility, courtesy encroachments on Usman Road and Ranganathan Street, the report concludes that fire tenders will find it difficult to reach the spot of emergency and as such “even a small smoke or fire will lead to a panic situation” and which could “threaten the lives of people due to stampede.”
Still, the fact is that the Chennai corporation, or the CMDA for that matter, continues to act lackadaisically on the issue. Questions regarding T Nagar and building violations are often met with replies that goes like, “Why? What is wrong with T Nagar?” as a senior official asked this correspondent. When, in 2011, the CMDA and corporation mustered grit to seal 25 shops for a spate of building violations, it took the aggrieved store owners two months to earn a reprieve from the Supreme Court. The case is still pending hearing with little progress expected anytime soon.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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