Own fire wing serves notice on civic body for violations

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, July 13

The Municipal Corporation’s own fire safety wing has served a notice on the civic body for various violations in its building in Sector 17.

Sources said the notice mentioned several requisite fire safety arrangements were either missing or inadequate in the building. There were no proper automatic water sprinklers in several sections. Smoke detectors and illuminated boards at the exits were missing too.

Also, there was no adequate water in tanks kept on terrace to be used in case of fire. The multi-storey building of the corporation had an insufficient number of fire extinguishers, which was the basic fire safety measure, said the sources.

Violations in MC building

• No proper automatic sprinklers in many sections
• Smoke detectors missing
• No illuminated “exit” boards
• Inadequate water in tanks kept on terrace which is used in case of fire
• Insufficient number of fire extinguishers

“Our fire wing had inspected the entire premises and found violations. We have now served a notice on the MC by which it has been asked to remove the shortcomings. After a few days, another inspection will be carried out. If the shortcomings are not done away with, then a reminder notice will be issued. If these still persist, then the final procedure of sealing the building will be resorted to,” said a fire wing official.

This one-month notice has been served on MC Chief Engineer NP Sharma by the Station Fire Officer on the orders of Joint Commissioner-cum Chief Fire Officer Isha Kamboj. In a survey conducted earlier, the corporation had found only 19 per cent government and private buildings in the city, which were above 15 metre in height (highrises), had the mandatory fire safety certificate (FSC). Of a total of 421 buildings, only 80 have obtained the certificate. The National Building Code of India, 2016, makes it mandatory for buildings above 15 metre in height to get the fire NOC.