HYDRAA To Enforce Strict Fire Safety Norms From March
The agency has granted establishments a one-month grace period to meet fire safety norms.
HYDERABAD: The HYDRAA said that it would continue to spread awareness about fire safety across the city, and begin enforcing the norms from the first week of March. After the fire accident in the furniture showroom blaze at Nampally in January, which claimed five lives, HYDRAA has conducted inspections and sealed several shops and showrooms that lacked fire no-objection certificates (NOCs) and basic safety systems.
Officials said the inspections revealed widespread violations, including blocked exit routes, illegal storage in basements and the absence of functional fire equipment. Recognising the need to sensitise traders, the agency has granted establishments a one-month grace period to meet fire safety norms.
During this period, HYDRAA teams were conducting awareness programmes in key commercial areas, training shop owners, workers and the public on fire prevention, evacuation procedures and emergency response. Demonstrations on the use of fire extinguishers and automatic sprinklers, along with mock drills, are being held to reduce risks and prevent loss of life and property.
Earlier, HYDRAA commissioner A. V. Ranganath visited the fire-hit site at Aditya Enclave in Ameerpet, inspected the ground-floor electrical panel area where the fire started and the affected floors and assessed the safety conditions.
Ranganath appreciated the quick response of the HYDRAA DRF personnel, stationed near the site, who reached the building within three minutes of being informed of the fire at 11.01 am. The teams used fire extinguishers to contain the flames and simultaneously carried out rescue operations inside the smoke-filled premises.
More than 50 people who were inside the building at the time were guided out by HYDRAA staff, Ranganath said. Those trapped on the upper floors were brought down using rope ladders. The coordinated effort by the fire department and DRF staffers ensured no loss of life occurred, he said.