INDUSTRY TALK
AR. SHRREYASH SARMALKAR Founder, Principal Architect & Project Management Consultant ESSQUARE
CHALLENGES & CONQUESTS OF FIRE FIGHTERS
The Alarming Fire Realities in Mumbai Mumbai! Alarmed by the many fire incidents that have occurred over the past few years it's time for Mumbaikars to take cognizance that fire makes for a good servant but a bad master. Unfazed by the prospect of losing life, our fire fighters' focus is always on dousing fire, saving human life & property. The fire fighters use the principles of engineering and science to defend people from risky scenarios. Their job is one of the most challenging & daring professions that demands utmost precision, planning, carefulness, meticulousness and lots of commitment that too with very limited time to prepare and yet they aim to carry out the work flawlessly incessantly. This field deals with the avoidance of fire. It also deals with diluting the casualty which occurs on day-to-day basis by allowing safety measures and growing the parameters of standard of living, thereby reflecting higher efficiency levels of performance. Having said so sprinklers too play a crucial role containing local fire. Smoke detectors and sprinklers are the real first responders in case of high-rise fires. The fire fighters wear their hearts on their sleeves & are very passionate about their job. Fire fighters possess know-how of tackling fires- avoiding an outbreak, controlling it & surviving it. Having said so, they have been known to fall short of luck on some occasions, and injuring themselves during rescue operations. Sometimes even at the cost of their lives. Fire fighters too have their family just like ours but they are determined to risk their lives against all odds to save common man, birds, animals, property, etc. Issues related to fire safety had taken a centre stage after Kamala Mills, Lower Parel fire incident in December 2017. Though the Mumbai Fire Brigade took action against restaurants & hotels for noncompliance, the ESIC hospital blaze highlighted lack 46
of fire safety measures at public buildings. Another fire broke out at the ESIC hospital at evening just two days after a blaze claimed 10 lives, when a meter box caught fire. As per reports around 309 fire incidents have been reported between 1st to 20th December 2018 across the city. Source: DNA, 21st December 2018, Mumbai.
After the fire incidence at Sargam building in Chembur, the Mumbai Fire Brigade inspected around 377 structures across the city between 27th- 30th Dec. 2018. Of the 377 structures inspected, 346 structures were found to be complying with fire safety norms. Necessary action was taken by Mumbai Fire Brigade to the ones who had flouted the safety measures. In this year alone, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has inspected over 32,000 structures which included residential buildings, restaurant, commercial establishments, malls, cinema halls, etc. Out of these, MFB has served notices to 17,730 structures for non-compliance. The MFB has commenced legal proceedings in 9,407 cases & sealed 32 premises. Source: DNA, 1st January 2019, Mumbai.
Over 300 Mumbaikars have lost their lives in fires over the last six years. Seven among them were firefighters. There have been over 29,000 instances of fire across the city since 2012. A whopping 710 cases have been recorded till May 2018 alone. Source: The Quint.
As per the draft Development Plan unveiled by the BMC, if 100 percent FSI is consumed, a built-up area of 56,808 hectares can be added on to the city in the next 20 years, most of it vertically. This is equivalent to the size of 6,380 Oval Maidans! 90 meters is the reach of the firefighting snorkel van the department has purchased 18 meters is the expected length of the van, which means it will require a large radius for turning. January 2022 - www.visionmediahitech.com
