Negligence in adopting fire safety norms to the fore in probe report

A systemic failure in prioritising employee welfare coupled with negligence in adopting fire safety norms has come to fore in NR Aromas, an industrial perfume manufacturing firm, where nine workers were killed in a fire in February 2024 at Jharmajri in Baddi industrial area.

A magisterial probe conducted by Additional Deputy Commissioner Solan Ajay Yadav has exposed the blatant disregard to employee safety.

The firm was manufacturing industrial perfumes for more than 10 years and has various factories across country. But it failed to comply with legal provisions and responsibilities mandated in various acts and regulation seriously.

“The firm did not comply with the fire regulations governing the handling of explosive and hazardous substances. The lack of adherence to proper fire safety and mock drills related to fire safety in industry represents a critical lapse in compliance with Indian safety regulations such as the Factories Act, 1948 (especially Section 38 of Act) and the National Building Code (NBC) of India, 2016,” observes the report.

NR Aromas clearly neglected these essential practices, leading to untrained employees and unsafe working environments. “This non-compliance not only jeopardises the lives of workers but also violates statutory provisions requiring organisations to maintain a safe workplace,” observed Yadav who added that the firm was using 36 chemicals as per official records but during investigation around 143 different chemicals were found in the factory.

“The workers were unaware of the hazardous and explosive nature of the chemicals they were handling as well as the necessary precautions required for their safe management,” remarked Yadav.

Glaring irregularities like lack of emergency fire exits and proper markings to indicate safe evacuation routes in the event of a fire were also detected.

The management instructed the staff to continue working despite detecting a foul smell of fire. This led to large scale mortalities with as many as nine workers having been charred.

“The industry has failed to implement proper workplace safety measures for handling hazardous chemicals, disregarding standard operating procedures (SOPs) mandated by Indian regulations such as the Factories Act, 1948, and the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules, 1996,” observes the report further.

“This blatant non-compliance not only endangers employees' lives but also reflects a grave violation of statutory safety norms, exposing significant lapses in management’s commitment to workplace safety,” stated the report.

Essential measures, such as use of fire-resistant containers for storing such chemicals, were not implemented, increasing the risk of accidents.

Instead of storing hazardous chemicals at a safe and designated location away from the workplace, the containers and drums were kept in close proximity to the operational areas, alongside other chemicals.

No Material Safety Data Sheets boards were displayed within the premises to provide critical information on the chemical properties, associated hazards, and necessary safety precautions. This negligence significantly hindered rescue operations and fire-fighting efforts during the fire incident.

Deputy Commissioner Solan Manmohan Sharma said the report has been sent to the government for further action.