Pharma Units Must Move Beyond Compliance To Prevent Fires: FSAI
“Fire cannot be treated alone. It is a combination of fire safety, electrical safety, security and automation (FESA),” Wahi told Deccan Chronicle, explaining the rationale behind the initiative launched by FSAI to address integrated safety risks across industrial sectors.
Hyderabad: Pharmaceutical companies need to move beyond regulatory compliance and adopt predictive safety systems to prevent fires and explosions, Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) Hyderabad chapter president Manoj Wahi said. He said fire safety in pharma units could not be viewed in isolation, as electrical systems, security, automation and industrial processes were closely linked.
“Fire cannot be treated alone. It is a combination of fire safety, electrical safety, security and automation (FESA),” Wahi told Deccan Chronicle, explaining the rationale behind the initiative launched by FSAI to address integrated safety risks across industrial sectors.
Wahi said the Pashamylaram incident last year had highlighted the dangers posed by increasingly complex pharmaceutical processes, particularly combustible dust. The incident demonstrated the need to invest in technologies and systems that prevent fires rather than merely respond to them, he said. “We need a predictive model rather than a compliance model. We have to go beyond the regulatory framework,” Wahi said.
He identified human error and poor maintenance as some of the biggest safety gaps in pharma facilities. While safety systems may be available on paper, their effectiveness depends on regular maintenance, timely activation and employees understanding the risks around them. “The last-mile human error is one of the biggest problems,” he said, adding that employees needed to remain alert to potential hazards rather than becoming responsive only after an emergency occurred.
According to Wahi, the most immediate step for every pharmaceutical unit should be to check the health and operational readiness of all its safety systems.
Telangana fire services director G.V. Narayana Rao also called for a zero-accident approach in the State’s pharmaceutical industry, stressing process-safety audits, hazard assessment and advanced fire detection systems. The FESA conference brought together industry, safety professionals and technology providers to discuss fire, electrical, process, security and automation risks in the pharmaceutical sector.
