Over 750 buildings, including 58 hospitals, unsafe: Nagpur fire dept

NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s fire and emergency services department has declared over 750 city structures, including 43 units of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH), Government Ayurvedic College and 14 other private hospitals, unsafe in the absence of adequate firefighting equipment and advised occupants to vacate them immediately.
The list of unsafe buildings was uploaded on NMC’s website and these include residential properties, hospitals, educational institutions, bars and restaurants, industrial structures, mercantile centres, and also mixed occupancies.
The department has also instructed NMC’s water works department and Orange City Water Limited to disconnect water supply to 60 buildings. Similar communications were sent to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited to snap power supply to these 60 structures. Besides this, it has also filed police complaints against 54 owners and occupants of different buildings for neglecting fire fighting norms, the data revealed.
The department has collated data of errant structures following inspection of 1,844 buildings having first fire no-objection certificate. As per the data, fire department inspected around 313 hospitals in city limits to check whether firefighting systems were in place or not. After the inspection, the department served notices to most of the building owners to install firefighting equipment. Though many property owners initiated the process, many overlooked the suggestions. “So, the buildings were declared unsafe under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006,” chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake told TOI.
TOI has been highlighting how firefighting arrangements are not in place in most high-rise and commercial buildings. As per the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, owners and builders violating the norms could be jailed for six months to a year.
Though the fire department has informed MSEDCL and OCW of the status of such buildings, both the agencies continue to supply power and water to them.
Most such high-rises are yet to even install firefighting systems. As per the report, many residential and commercial high-rises fall under ‘unsafe’ category.
Though new development control rules have extended firefighting norms from 15-metre to 24-metre buildings recently, fire officials said as per old DCR and Maharashtra Fire Safety and Prevention Act, the existing unsafe buildings lack appropriate side margin, have no emergency staircases, and the main staircase is not free of obstructions. Besides, firefighting installations like wet riser, hose reel and sprinkler system were missing. Most buildings were also not constructed as per national building code.
Uchake said notices were issued from time to time to all property owners, for failure to comply with the fire safety norms, and they were directed to undertake measures regarding fire prevention and life safety.
However, even though all 750 buildings were declared unsafe, these continue to be functional with people living or working in them, because of the apathetic bureaucracy.
The Shortcomings
Water tank and pump not found on many terraces
Hose reel in most buildings not working
Extinguisher system insufficient
Landing wall of riser system not working
No facility of sprinkler system
No detection systems
Excess construction found in refuge area