The deadly fire in Unnat Nagar, Goregaon’s SRA building brings to fore their frightening inadequacies in dealing with fire-related emergencies. The appointment of a special officer to survey all SRA buildings and subject them to fire-audit may have come a day late but is a step that needs to be implemented rigorously given the number of such structures and their vulnerability to fires
With its ever-burgeoning population and peculiar topography, Mumbai throws up only the limited option of vertical growth, an offshoot of which is the growing number of high-rises that dot the metro’s landscape. While they may be expedient under the circumstances, they have a hazardous downside to it. Housing being one of the prime concerns and key areas of development and necessity. developers over the years have capitalized on the virtually unlimited Floor Space Index (FSI) available in certain rehabilitation housing schemes, allowing them to construct skyscrapers even in congested areas. For long, Mumbai has been an example in contrast as high-rises have nestled with slum pockets.
Additional dimension
While fire safety and mitigation emerge as major concerns in this situation, slum pockets and Slum Rehabilitation Buildings add an extra dimension as the recent fire near Azad Maidan in a Goregaon SRA building has potentially shown. Residents were jolted from their sleep by the fire that started in the wee hours and left 7 dead, 62 injured. The ground + 7-storeyed Jai Bhawani building stood little chance as stacks of clothes, rags, plywood and other combustible material lying around caught fire. Fire safety was followed more in breach than practice as the building had no fire extinguishers.
Significant step
Such was the magnitude of the fire and the circumstances around it that it prompted Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde to order a fire audit of all SRA buildings. This step is particularly significant as many SRA buildings have come up before 2006 and not covered by the Maharashtra Fire Services Act, 2006 that mandates high-rises to have fire-fighting systems. For an average Mumbaikar, used to seeing much taller structures than the ubiquitous 7 or 8-storeyed structures, the buildings are routine sights and inconsequential as far as such hazards are concerned.
Vulnerable structures
The decision to appoint a special officer to survey all SRA buildings and enforce fire and structural audits might be a little late in the day but appropriate and relevant nevertheless. When it comes to fire safety, no structure is less vulnerable. The fact that it took over four hours for the Fire Brigade personnel to douse the fire is an eloquent commentary on how tricky it can be to control fires in slum pockets or even SRA buildings that are not considered as skyscrapers by Mumbai’s vertically growing standards.
It is pertinent to mention here that SRA buildings are constructed for slum dwellers after the land they are occupying is cleared for development by private entities. The private entities fund the rehabilitation of these people and also get a return on investment by constructing homes for sale in the open market.
Inherent risks
The National Building Code (NBC) which is the country’s primary model code for concerns pertaining to building construction and fire safety, brings under its wide compass all structures and does not make for any special allowance for SRA structures. Fire protection and prevention are state-related issues and the State Governments are largely responsible for fire prevention and fire protection. Municipal by-laws or state regulations serve as the legal framework for fire protection and prevention.A fire safety audit is a tool for assessing the fire safety standards of an organization or building. A comprehensive fire safety audit examines the inherent fire risks of daily operations and recommends measures to reduce potential fire risks.
Dangerous consequences
Fire safety in Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) buildings in Mumbai should be a topic of increasing concern. The Goregaon fire incident raises concerns about the true cost of this initiative. With circulation, light and ventilation guidelines violated in the construction of properties built under the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority scheme, desperate residents turn to fans and ACs that overload electrical circuits. The result is a surefire disaster in the making. The consequences of such a disaster can only be imagined as inhabitants are ill-prepared to deal with fire-related emergencies and conducting test drills. Thus, the very basic purpose of meeting the very minimum fire safety requirements for users and occupants comes to a nought.
Look for the second part of this analysis in the nextFire Safety Update article
A Column By
Raju Korti – Editor
The Resource 24X7
A Journalist With 4 Decades of Experience With Leading Media Houses.
