NBC insists all buildings to have an open space, and to be equipped with sprinklers irrespective of their height and occupancy
Fire at Kamala Mills has exposed how the variance between National Building Code and city’s Development Control Rules on fire safety for high rises can be critical.
NBC mandates buildings above 15 meters in height must have two staircases and part thereof. However, a large number of buildings up to 70 meters in the city have just one staircase which severely restrict evacuation process. The concession is granted by the DC rules and this turned out to be the difference between life and death in Kamala Mills fire.
NBC also stipulates implementation of Fire Tower concept where part of building is secluded with fire retardant walls, fire exits, shaft one lift and staircase for evacuation. This provision is hardly adhered to.
As per the NBC, the every building should have a reasonable marginal open space. Height divided by three subject to maximum of 16 meters of open space needs to be carved out. However, a paltry 1.5 meter of open space is kept in most of the city’s high rise buildings on the pretext of buildings are abutting on the streets. While Delhi buildings have complied with this, space-crunched Mumbai hasn’t paid much attention to this.
NBC insists all buildings to be equipped with sprinklers irrespective of their height and occupancy. NBC points that if select floors were fitted with sprinklers, there is a danger of fire starting on one of the lower floors without floors gathering momentum and then spreading upwards from floor to floor. NBC has also suggested keeping the water available across the building instead of static underground tanks.
Beyond this, the two ultramodern ladders procured by the city fire brigade can go up to 100 meters. But narrow roads and bylanes often restrict their mobility to just 50 meters.
“There needs to be an independent fire prevention cell on the lines of New York and it should comprise experts from all engineering streams such as civil, electrical, mechanical and fire. The fire department should be independent of fire prevention cell,’’ former director of fire services and the fire advisor MV Deshmukh told DNA.
THE NORM
- NBC insists all buildings to have an open space, and to be equipped with sprinklers irrespective of their height and occupancy
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