Fire safety audit begins in Gautam Buddha Nagar housing societies

The fire department Monday audited 33 high rises, and served notices on a few housing societies.

Pradeep Choubey, Chief Fire Officer, said that during the inspection they checked different fire-related equipment such as pipes, pumps, water sprinklers, fire alarm, and fire extinguishers.

“If these are found to be non-functional, then we would issue notice to respective high-rises and if they do not fix it, we file the case in the court,” said Choubey.

The officer said that during the campaign, the residents would be made aware about fire safety. “If any deficiency related to fire safety are found after inspecting the buildings, a notice would be issued and necessary action would be taken to remove the deficiencies,” Choubey added.

The data available with the District Fire Department office shows that during the earlier audits, notices have been served to 267 high-rise buildings for not complying with fire safety norms. Out of these, cases have been filed against 74 high rises in the court of chief judicial magistrate.

Officials said that there is a provision for imprisonment up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both, if the fire safety measures and guidelines are not followed.

The data shows that 146 high-rises have fixed fire-fighting equipment while 37 housing societies are yet to adhere to safety norms. Three societies have been served new notice as per the fire safety guidelines.