Quick back of the palm calculations reveal that each officer must inspect over 1,100 buildings every six months — that is if he does not take a single day of leave
According to protocol, the over 2 lakh buildings in the city must be inspected at least once in six months for fire safety however the Mumbai Fire Brigade has only 180 officers for the task. This is in addition to their fire fighting duties. Out of these buildings, 20,000 are high-rises, 3,916 schools, 531 colleges, 400 hospitals and 2,000 hotels.
Quick back of the palm calculations reveal that each officer must inspect over 1,100 buildings every six months — that is if he does not take a single day of leave. It means every officer must inspect six buildings a day without taking a single day's break.
For an officer to inspect a building diligently, he would need at least two to three days for a thorough report. However, they cannot afford the luxury of time at the moment which results in superficial scrutiny which is often simply based on documents submitted and not proper inspection on the ground.
According to a senior fire officer, the fire brigade staff is clearly overworked. "Mumbai's fire officers are fire fighting as well as carrying out administrative work. This is impacting their efficiency. We urgently need to revise and modernise this existing structure," he said, adding that the number of officers has remained constant for the past 25 years. As per the fire officer, to inspect a commercial building, the fire officer has to visit the site for at least two to three days to check the fire pumps, hydrants, smoke detectors and sprinklers in the premises.
"Moreover, maintenance and pressure level of the pumps has to be checked at the ground level. We cannot afford to do our job superficially. We need more officers," said P Kalguppikar, a former fire officer.
Another fire officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that besides preparing the reports, they also have to approve leaves and check musters daily. "If there is a fire then we have to rush to fight it. Once fire fighting is over, we get busy with writing reports. We are clearly overworked," he added.
LAX SAFETY
- Of the 2 lakh buildings that need to be inspected, 20,000 are high-rises, 3,916 schools, 531 colleges, 400 hospitals and 2,000 hotels.
- It means each of the 180 fire officers will have to inspect six buildings a day.
- The staff strength has remained constant for 25 years.
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