With a delay of more than a year, the 'special cell' of the Mumbai Fire Brigade for fire inspection might finally come into force by year end. A proposal on this was cleared by deputy chief fire officer Sunil Nesarikar, on Saturday. The proposal has now sent to the municipal administration. Following an approval from the BMC, the recruitment of officers will begin.
The decision to start the cell was taken in 2012, after it came to light that most buildings don't comply with basic fire safety norms, which will comprise 99 fire officers, including experienced fire officials. The new recruit will undergo rigorous training of six months before they start fire inspections and subsequent enforcement of fire safety rules under the Maharashtra Fire Safety and Prevention Act.
"Each officer will be provided with a tablet, to take images and details of the building they are inspecting in a fixed format, consisting of 10 to 20 parameters, and synchronise them directly with the main fire brigade office. The information will be accessible to senior fire officers from their office," said Nesarikar.
So far, fire inspections are usually carried out by 83 fire officers, since there are not enough registered agencies in the city for the task. "Carrying out fire inspections of more than 3.8 lakh buildings is not feasible, so we give preference to places with a higher footfall, such as malls, theatres, hospitals, schools, industrial estates and commercial buildings among others for inspections," said a senior fire officer.
Since September 8, 2013 to March 31, 2014, the fire brigade has carried out 3,469 inspections and has issued notices to 1,357 structures. However, there were only four prosecutions, as most societies complied to the suggestions of the fire officers within the given time period, senior officials from the department said.
Nesarikar informed that the Mumbai fire brigade is simultaneously working on setting up a communication cell, which was also proposed last year, to create awareness amongst residents about fire safety and to maintain information regarding location, area and names of housing societies. It will also monitor the functioning of the special cell for fire inspection.
Fire officer receives medal
Prabhat Rahangdale, deputy chief fire officer of Mumbai fire Brigade, was awarded the fire service medal for Gallantry, conferred by the President of India, in exemplary courage in executing fire fighting and rescue operations at serious fire at Fatima Manzil on November 3, 1999. The award was presented by municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte, at the concluding event of the Fire Safety week at the Civil Defence Ground in Marine Lines. "I am happy to receive the award even after a delay of so many years," said Rahangdale. He represents India in the UN for Disaster Preparedness Mission, Bhutan and Sri Lanka and various other UN program INSARG (International Search & Rescue Advisory.
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