Telangana Factories Department Holds Fire Safety Meet

Hyderabad: The National Safety Council (NSC), Telangana chapter, in collaboration with the factories department, held a one-day workshop, ‘Fire Prevention and Mitigation in Factories’ at the KLN Prasad Auditorium, FTCCI, Red Hills, on Monday.

Around 360 delegates from oil, explosives, pharmaceutical and chemical plants across the state attended the event, which focused on reducing fire-related accidents through improved planning, equipment maintenance and worker training.

B. Rajagopala Rao, director of factories, and NSC-Telangana chairman, noted that although Telangana hosted numerous high-risk industries, its fire fatality rate remained lower than in many other states and non-industrial settings such as malls and schools. He urged factory management to integrate fire-safety measures from material procurement through disposal and highlighted best practices including hot-work permits, routine maintenance, good housekeeping, clear emergency exits, adequate ventilation, machine grounding and coordination with neighbouring units.

Joint chief inspector Y. Mohan Babu called on managers to proactively identify and eliminate on-site fire hazards. A retired director of the fire services department and other experts led sessions on electrical and static-electricity fires, prevention strategies and emergency response protocols.