Developers who ignore guidelines will not get no-objection certificate, says fire department.
With an increase in the construction of high-rise buildings in the city recently and alarming incidents of fire in many skyscrapers, the fire department has framed new guidelines for the safety of upcoming structures.
As per new norms, buildings with a height of 70 metres and more will have to get a no-objection certificate from the fire department.
The high-rise tower’s plot size should be at least 1,000 sq m. It should have two separate staircases. The width of the approach road to the proposed structure should be 18 metres. No LPG cylinder or kerosene stove will be allowed inside the building. Instead, they need to have gas supply through inbuilt pipeline to avoid intensive damage.
According to senior officials, recently the city has witnessed a steady increase in high-rise residential towers, especially on mill lands and redevelopment plots. It is a serious cause of concern for the fire department to ensure safety for these mushrooming towers.
As a precautionary measure, the fire department has constituted new guidelines that will be applied for the upcoming high-rise buildings and will be submitted to the municipal commissioner and the High-Rise Committee constituted by the state government for approval and implementation.
There were many fire accidents caused due to LPG gas cylinder blasts. The same was noticed at the high-rise building in Four Bungalows in Andheri West last month. One woman had died in the fire and many more were injured. Experts believe that banning LPG cylinders inside buildings will control such accidents in future.
Besides, it is observed that in some high-rise buildings, the approach roads are so narrow that at times the fire brigade vehicles find it difficult to reach the accident spot. So it is made mandatory to have the road to at least 18 metres wide.
It is also proposed to have two separate staircases with a width of 1.5 to 2 metres to ensure proper rescue operation and to have first refuge area after 24 metres of height of the building and later each at 15 metres as the height increases.
Officials said, “We will ask developers to install fire detection system, automatic sprinkles in the entire building including basement, lobby, corridor and common passage. They will be advised to use fireproof paint to prevent it from spreading to another building.”
Chief fire officer Uday Tatkare said: “New guidelines may be stringent for the developers but still they will have to follow them. We will spare no one.”
While welcoming the new guidelines, Congress corporator Vinod Shekhar said they should be implemented properly and without any second thought. It is observed that hardly any developer follows these guidelines and they remain only on paper.”
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