Gandhinagar: Fire expert and former Chief Fire Officer of Ahmedabad city, MF Dastoor today in reply to media queries threw light on some of the aspects of Rajkot TRP zone fire tragedy.

Dastoor said, ‘insulating material is used in metal structures to prevent heat. Such material such as foam, Thermocol are petroleum products and they are highly inflammable. Insulating material is used for walls and ceiling. There has to be automatic system that can detect smoke or heat and starts operating immediately. Such system is old and proven. Then the staff also must be trained to use extinguishers and guide the people for exit route. Hose reels and pipes should be kept inside.’

Dastoor further said, ‘In case of metal structure such as TRP game zone, internal heat goes up so much in case of fire that the whole structure enlarges and then collapses in many pieces. In such situation, fire staff is unable to douse fire because fire is alive under many small pieces of collapsed metal, and water thrown by jawans would not reach there effectively.’

Dastoor therefore stressed on provision of ventilation and said – ‘Power ventilation to take the smoke out of the structure is absolutely required. It would also increase visibility. Emergency lights are also needed so that people can see through smoke. Such lights would get switched on in the case of power failures.’

Dastoor said, ‘there has to be sufficient ladders and staircases. In such a density prone structure, one opening for emergency exist must be there at distance of every 10 meters distance. Such escape can be pushed from inside for its opening. Such exit facilities must be 1 meter wide. Take an example of cinema hall. It can be vacated in 3 minutes, as there are 5 ft entry and exit doors. In more risky structure like TRP game zone, there has to be provision for vacating the entire space in just 2 minutes.’

‘Compartmenting in order to prevent spread of fire, automatic sprinkler, hand-held extinguisher, exhaust system to send smoke outside, escape/exit facilities, wiring that would have safety switches for cut off all are very important,’ he said.

Former Chief Fire Officer of Ahmedabad, Rajesh Bhatt also stressed on all of these points explained above and said the building and its wiring need to be designed and executed in such a way that fire hazard can be prevented. Bhatt said, the game zone was functioning without fire NOC for last four years. It could be served notice over this way back before years and if not complied the structure could be shut down by department. Bhatt said the fire brigade generally can reach the spot in 15-20 minutes, but before that, the staff present there has to respond to fire by using extinguishers, provided such equipment are kept there already, and the staff is trained enough to use them. Bhatt said, there’s lack of awareness and interest among people regarding such issues. DeshGujarat