20190705 Debris at the sweet shop that caught fire on Friday night
India Jul 05 2019 “Building” “Factories”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Debris at the sweet shop that caught fire on Friday night
Updated: 2019–07–07
CHANDIGARH: The fire incident at Chandigarh Sweets factory in Phase 1 of Industrial Area on Friday night has brought to fore major violations of the fire safety norms by the industrial units operating in the area.
According to sources, the factories in both Phase 1 and 2 are flouting even the basic fire safety norms. Although the fire department has issued advisories and notices in the past, including one issued very recently, no strict action has been taken so far.
Hanging wires, lack of emergency exits, stacking of materials stocks either at the entry points or on non-designated areas or absence of fire extinguishers, absence of alarm system, etc., are some of the major violations that can be found in majority of the industrial units of the two phases of Chandigarh Industrial Area.
Surprisingly, in the past 10 years, the municipal corporation's fire department has sealed very few buildings that were not following the fire norms and largely they have been reluctant to act against the violators. As per the norms, after issuing three notices, the MC is supposed to seal the building. But here, even the fire audits are not done on regular basis. There are around 2,500 industrial units in the two phases of the industrial area, where more than 50,000 workers are employed. Besides, hundreds of trucks and other heavy vehicles come to these areas laden with raw material.
“We have issued advisories and notices to the industrial units in the recent past and asked them to make their factories safe from fire point of view. Now, we will soon start the checking exercise of these units and violators will be dealt with strictly,” said an official.
The industrial area has already witnessed many fire incidents in the past. A major incident took place in October 2017, when fire broke out at the Devdarshan Dhoop factory in Industrial area Phase-2. In all, 28 workers, mostly women, had to be hospitalised after the fire broke out at the incense factory. The workers were trapped inside as there was no emergency exit door.
Even that time, very few industrial units were found to be following the fire guidelines, and they have been continued to store combustible material at the entrance which is not allowed. In case of Devdarshan Dhoop unit incident, it storage at the entrance had to led to the fire.
Web Source: The times of india