Fire seminar begins

VADODARA, April 28: Basic fire-fighting equipment must be provided on all the floors of multi-storeyed residential and commercial buildin...

VADODARA, April 28: Basic fire-fighting equipment must be provided on all the floors of multi-storeyed residential and commercial buildings, including basements, terraces and lift-rooms, to make them safe from fires.

Speaking at a seminar on Fire Protection in High Rise Buildings: Difficulties in Dealing with Fires in Urban Areas8217;, National Fire Academy technical director, J K Walanj said on Wednesday that all buildings above 15 metres in height should be equipped with wet-risers and down-comers.

Buildings taller than 15 metres with basements used for storage of hazardous and explosive materials should have high pressure water spray or foam-sprinkler systems, he said.

In addition to wet-risers, Walanj said, first-aid hose reels should also be installed on all the floors of the buildings.

He said that residential buildings, including boarding-houses and hotels, must also be equipped with manually operated electrical fire-alarm systems with one or more call boxes on each floor.

Director of the Regional Urban Development Office in New Delhi James Stein stressed on the need for a disaster management programme in a country like India that experienced floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, and technological disasters frequently.

NFA president Jatin Modi said the Institute of Disaster Management set up by the academy would be inaugurated by Industry Minister Suresh Mehta in the third week of May this year. Policemen, fire brigade personnel, social activists, doctors, engineers and people from industry would receive training in disaster management in the institute, he said.

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Modi said that a short-term programme for creating awareness among school children had also been planned. Under the scheme, 40 boys from each school would be given training in fire prevention and disposal of domestic waste through vermiculture. All child participants would be made members of the Eco-Club to be floated by the academy.