Like all civic departments, Fire Brigade too carries a specific rate card for various sanctions and audits. Rates vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh- from quarterly safety audit to fresh proposal, every piece of paper costs money in the department that is expected to protect lives from fire.
Madhukar Kamble, who was Chief of Vigilance in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation noticed pattern in how sanctions were given and how audits were made and had submitted a detailed report to the then municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak.
“Developers and hospitality firms like restaurants, pubs, bars and banquet halls are expected to submit their proposals to the Fire department. After scrutiny and visit to the venue, the officer sends compliance letter to the applicant. However, what I found was that while certain applications were dealt with in a speedy manner, several others remained pending for a long period. Officers did not have satisfactory answer why this was so,” he said.
Fire officers who are entrusted with issuance of compliance letters, are overburdened as usual. As a result, most venues are given certificates without any visits after palms are greased.
Most restaurants and firms outsource maintenance of their fire safety equipment to third party vendors who are required to check if vital measures such as fire extinguishers and sprinklers, smoke detectors were in order. “They don’t even train their staff or security personnel to ensure their patrons are safely evacuated in case of fire,” said another fire officer.
THE RISK FACTOR
- Most restaurants and firms outsource maintenance of their fire safety equipment to third party vendors.
- The vendors are required to check if vital measures such as fire extinguishers and sprinklers, smoke detectors are in order and train the staff.
FOR A PRICE
Quarterly fire audits- Rs 10,000 - Rs 50000
Fresh proposals- Rs 1 lakh - Rs 10 lakhs
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