Awareness on fire safety need of the hour

Prateek Chauhan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 22

Overlooking of fire safety is engulfing lives of people in the city. Situation is such that alone in April, 15 incidents of fire from different parts of the city were reported and in seven incidents, 15 people lost their lives.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) is worried about the increasing number of deaths in the fire. In fact, the factories where such incidents happened in the recent past, there are no proper arrangements of fire safety available.

Similarly, in the residential areas, commercial activities are going on keeping aside the safety norms against fire outbreak. That is why, the fire immediately turned to be dangerous. The fire department officials are of the opinion that people should be made aware of the safety measures.

In fact, in the past few days in outer Delhi, incidents of fire outbreak in factories have been reported very frequently, in which some people have died.

Similarly, in Chandni Chowk, Kuncha Mahajani-situated Sarafa shop, a person had lost his life due to fire outbreak. In Nawada, West Delhi, two persons lost their lives in a fire in a crockery manufacturing factory. Situation is such that between April 4 and 16, 15 people died and some got injured and property worth lakhs of rupees have been destroyed due to the fire.

According to the fire department officials, in Nawada where the fire broke out in the crockery manufacturing factory, highly inflammable items were kept on the way to the room; therefore, people present in there could not come out.

In the past 13 days, in DFS control room 1,064 calls have been received reporting fire incidents.

On April 6, maximum 126 calls of fire were received. Whereas the average number of calls remained nearly 100, whereas during normal days the number of calls received is 60, said a DFS official.

According to DFS Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg, places where the incidents have taken place, the fire safety measure were not available. No sufficient facilities are available for entry and exit in the factories and houses which are illegally operating commercial activities.

In most of the places fire occurred due to short circuits. Actually, people in old factories and old houses install electrical equipment of lesser capacity. And due to more load and old wiring fire takes place.

Often people keep inflammable things near electrical and mechanical equipment, due to which the fire spreads very fast. For this, people are to be made aware of, he said.

Fire incidents and deaths

• April 4, one man died in cylinder explosion in Swaroop Nagar
• April 7, two men lost their lives due to fire in a factory in Bhor Garh Industrial Area
• April 8, an old man died due to fire in Candle Shop, Sarita Vihar 
• April 9, a fire in a shoe factory in Sultanpuri engulfed four persons 
• April 9, one charred to death in saraf shop fire in Kunch Mahajani, Chandni Chowk 
• April 13, four men of a family died in a building fire in Kohat Enclave 
• April 16, two died in a crockery factory fire in Nawada