Make fire-fighting systems a must

He said lack of a fire fighting system had made the Success Chambers building a fire hazardous building. The firemen were forced to fetch water from far away fire-hydrants and a 50 ft hose pipe was used to pump the water to the third floor of Success Chambers building where the fire had broken out.

8220;The fact that most of the offices in the building were closed when the fire broke out averted a major tragedy. Combustible material like wood and plywood was used in most offices to create small cabins. These cabins are filled with smoke due to lack of proper ventilation which could have suffocated the occupants. The elevator was not working and the narrow staircases could have seen a major stampede had there been people in the building,8221; Raut said.

He said after the blaze the fire brigade had decided to carry out random checks on the fire fighting systems at all the commercial complexes and residential buildings in the city to identify fire hazardous structures and take action against them.

While fire fighting systems at hotels, cinema halls and auditorium are frequently checked, Raut admitted, such checks were not being carried out at residential buildings and commercial complexes.

As a result, he said, the fire-fighting systems at many residential buildings and commercial complexes constructed after the new DC rules were introduced were not being maintained properly.

Besides, he revealed, most multi-storied buildings which had come up in the old city limits before the new DC rules were introduced as well as those in the merged villages did not have any fire-fighting systems.