Pune News : Fire safety measures at malls and multiplexes must be scrutinized, Fire dept officials

During a recent visit to a mall, a resident of Baner chose to avoid the elevator queue and the surrounding crowd and instead used the fire exit route.

When he ascended the stairs, the resident of Baner reported smelling stale and damp like trash. There was also a section devoted to the disposal of cardboard boxes and broken chairs.

According to the chief fire officer of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Pune Municipal Corporation, fire exits are places that are not intended for public use. In the event of a fire, these exits will be blocked if trash and broken furniture are disposed of.

Following the Wednesday night fire at an Aundh mall, a re-examination of mall fire safety became imperative.

The chief fire officer went on to say that the National Building Code, 2016, contains specific guidelines regarding construction, exits, materials used, and power supply. Three main topics are covered in the ‘fire and life safety section’: fire protection, life safety, and fire prevention. It can be used for high-rise structures as well as unique ones such as hotels, schools, businesses, mercantile and industrial units, storage facilities, and buildings with hazardous or mixed occupancy.

Leading fire safety officials believed that electrical short circuits were the primary cause of fires in shopping centers and other commercial buildings. In addition, there might be problems with overheating in mall restaurants or food courts’ kitchens.

An official from the Magarpatta mall stated that fire extinguishers are positioned 45 meters apart in accordance with regulations. The size of the mall determines how many exits and extinguishers it has. The extinguishers are labelled with the classification of fires and usage guidelines.

For improved coordination and efficiency, a mall in Pune has collaborated with government agencies including the local fire department, police station, anti-terrorism squad, bomb detection and disposal squads, and others to conduct joint drills for a variety of potential crisis situations, including fire, terrorist attacks, and bomb threats.

Shreyas Vange