Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services (TSDRFS) Department - achievements

The department during the year 2020 attended 7,899 calls as per the data published in its site. 

Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department

With its dedicated efforts, it saved 1005 lives and saved property worth Rs 960 crores. 

During the last seven years, it saved 2,301 lives and property worth Rs 4,667 crore in more than 62,000 calls attended.

Majority of the fires took place in residences, factories, storage yards, etc. Two major reasons for the fires are electrical short circuit and careless smoking habits. 

As is a common feature, many times, the approach of emergency services to the fire site will be delayed due to traffic, encroachments, parking of vehicles on the roads,  etc. Many do not keep parking areas within the buildings. Instead, public areas are used for parking. The entrance steps and/or ramps to many buildings will be on the road, thereby reducing the road width. 

When buildings collapse due to fire or other reasons, because of above reasons, the available road will be filled with debris or parked vehicles prevent approach of fire services and this makes the fire fighting / rescue task very difficult. 

National Building Code gives the requirements clearly with sufficient offsets / margins. Similarly, while seeking approvals from local government authorities, these margins may be shown in the drawing, but when comes to subsequent construction, hardly any space is kept free.

But, who will suffer. These building owners and tenants only will suffer in an emergency due to restricted access. But, the department and police will receive flak for not reaching in time or not able to extinguish / contain the fire.

Inspite of all these limitations, still the above numbers speak the invaluable contribution. And, one should not forget the risk taken by them. While risking their lives, they struggle to protect the lives and property. One may comment that they take salary, but who will risk their life for salary. It is their selfless dedicated action in the service of the public, that needs appreciation.

construction worker injured as Pump House Collapses

LINK

https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/under-construction-pump-house-collapsed-in-tirupati-548198

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/under-construction-bldg-collapse-kills-one-injures-5/articleshow/70311376.cms

As per news reports as above, 5 persons got injured and one person died during the slab laying work for a pump house. Total about 35 persons are at work spot with six on the roof and another five below. It appears from television report that officers are not present during the work. Questions are raised on quality, supervision, etc for the incident.

There are several such incidents reported in the media, from time to time.

The reasons  for such incidents and measures required are generally as below:

• Civil work is done in some sites based on rule of thumb or based on the knowledge / experience / perception of persons without proper design or approval from design engineer
• Successful execution of similar works without design gives confidence / presumed authority for taking up such works in larger scale
• Work is left to ground level workmen thereby not verifying the quality of work.
• The form work / staging work / scaffold made for laying the slab needs to confirm to design
• Design drawing should be complied during erection and to be verified for conformity with the drawing before going for slab concreting
• Checking the form work peripherally will not help as any deficiencies inside as well as under the proposed slab sheeting can lead to serious accidents
• Supervision from the firm issuing work order is required in addition to supervision from the executing agency, during the work as there can be compromise 
• Minimum number of persons just sufficient for the work should be at site
• No person should be present under and around the slab work
• The approaches to the construction site should be available without obstructions for use in emergency
• Offset / gap between building and road should be ensured so that in case of collapse, the fallen material will not block the access for emergency services
• Persons engaged for work should be medically fit. It is better to provide food before and during the work and refreshments to the persons engaged in the work by the executing agency itself as some of the persons can be very poor and take work to earn livelihood
• Better to use steel for form work irrespective of height of work. Some agencies use wooden poles and eccentricity can be seen by persons going nearby. Doubts will arise immediately to the viewer that when this will fall. The gap on horizontal and vertical directions also will be so high that persons going nearby will be scared about its stability.
• Work should not be taken up in heavy wind or rain as scaffold can collapse
• In many sites ladder / access to reach point of work will not be available and persons are seen climbing up or down like monkeys jump from one branch to another or by sliding or climbing. This is unsafe and can lead to fall of persons.
• Sufficient illumination is to be planned and provided so that work can be done even in darkness with clear visibility.

Toxic gas leak from neighbor factory affects 60 in a garment factory

Some workers of a garment factory sensing strong smell of a gas tried to runaway from workplace but fainted before reaching the gate. A taxi driver outside, seeing them call the help services. Security guards from neighboring factory said that there was a gas leak. About 60 persons were affected in this incident.

From the above, it is important to all persons working in a cluster of factories to know about hazards and emergency actions not only from their work place but from surrounding factories also.

Ammonia leak from food freezing system from the neighboring factory is suspected in this incident.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/60-garment-workers-faint-in-southern-vietnam-after-toxic-gas-leak-43833.html

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/52-garment-workers-hospitalized-again-one-day-after-toxic-gas-leak-in-vietnam-43906.html

Fire safety in theatres

Andhra Pradesh Government asked movie theatre owners to ensure fire safety. As per the fire department, all the theatres should ensure availability of atleast 10000 lit water in a tank, an earmarked area for fire engine, battery backup, emergency lights, fire alarms, public address system, etc. Government did not agree that most of the single screen theatres were setup long ago. Such arguments appear to the common man that theatre managements are compromising their safety. Strict punishments awarded few years ago to the owners and concerned government authorities for the tragedy in Uphar theatre in Delhi should be remembered by all. As per the news reports, theatre managements also realized for ensuring fire safety in their theatres.

Few years ago, traffic police department released a small video for screening in theatres in which the person purchasing the ticket enquires ticket counter person fire safety of the theatre.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Plea-for-theatre-ticket-hike-meets-fire-wall/articleshow/15576790.cms

Emergency exits - how they should be?

Recently, I attended a seminar and found the two doors marked as EXIT inside in the conference room, are leading to the same corridor. The conference room is located somewhat deep inside the building. I thought it is dangerous as any fire in the corridor will trap the seminar room occupants. Then during lunch time, I went behind the screens used for display of presentations and found two doors leading to outside of the building. Though, these doors are not marked as EXIT, still they serve the purpose. However, as they are not visible and there are no directional marks, people may or may not use them in an emergency.

Some of the guiding principles for emergency exits are,

1. doors should open outward
2. there should be one emergency exit for every 75 ft distance
3. emergency lighting along the corridor to maintain minimum illumination in case of failure of regular power supply
4. self glowing display signs (EXIT, arrow marking, etc)
5. availability of keys near the doors marked emergency exit, with hammer to break the box containing keys
6. not blocking the emergency exits
7. not having stairs in front of emergency exit doors

At some places, it looks funny to see signs of EXIT and directional arrows exactly on the doors instead of direction marks along the wall from inner rooms to outdoors. 

Gas leak smelled 80 miles away

A gas well leak through a quarter inch hole in the valve spread 80 miles down causing throat irritation and rotten egg smell. It is estimated that 135,000 cubic feet gas leaked before it was noticed and arrested. It is reported that the smell is due to high level sulfur compounds in the mercaptans collected in the gas at the well.
The reason for spread of gas so far is stated as "combination of a light south wind and an inversion of cold air trapped below low clouds with warmer atmosphere above the clouds prevented the gas dispersing upward and caused the gas to be closer to the ground, spreading the gas so far north".
Normally, when software models are used for particular weather conditions, we get dispersion distances which appear to be on higher side. "Experts" in the field too question such results stating that they are illogical. But, this incident is warning to users, emergency responders and regulators to be conservative on distance of impact and take protective measures in the area falling under this.

Grayling gas leak smelled 80 miles away

http://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/news/ght-n-gasleak-122811,0,693297.story

NDMA to prepare guidelines for emergencies in hospitals

It is reported that National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will prepare guidelines to handle emergencies in hospitals. This follows the fire incident at AMRI hospital on 09.12.2011 at Kolkata recently that claimed 93 lives. The guidelines include clarity on roles and responsibilities.

BLEVE

In a report (http://www.homernews.com/stories/111611/news_fdef.shtml#.TsiKjT38Kxw), it is mentioned that a fire started in a residential garage eventually led to BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion) and fireball involving a fuel oil tank kept inside the garage. The fireball sucked the oxygen and led to containment of fire. The fire was noticed by a neighbor who cautioned the resident of the house to escape.

Due to this, the tank failed with main tank shooting of 150 feet through a wall into the field, while the tank bottom blew through a steel door. The blown tank flew between fire fighters and nobody suffered even any minor injury.

The wind pushed the flames towards the house from garage and some front portion got burnt.

It is reported that the fire fighters heard venting sound like a jet engine and shortly afterwards, the blast took place.

The panicked owner could not tell the fire fighters about the fuel tank inside, though she told about other flammables inside. Fire fighters were unable to see the tank because of flames and heat.

There are no state fire codes to prohibit storage of fuel tanks in residential properties, though such codes exist for commercial and multi-dwelling units.

The Chief of Fire Service is not sure of proper working of vent. It is said that the fuel oil tanks are not designed to hold pressure. It appears that the fuel oil tank is having oil only to some level as per the visible line showing where it was empty.

The Chief advised to keep the oil to the full so that the heat can be absorbed and that vapor build up will be less inside the tank thus preventing pressure rise and explosion. He also feels that the tanks should be kept in open area with ventilation instead of keeping them inside.

From this incident, we can draw following lessons:

1. Flammable storage tanks should be kept outside with proper ventilation and fencing.
2. It should have proper vent relief.
3. It should have properly designed water sprinkler system.
4. It should be fenced to prevent others coming closer to it.
5. The whistle/jet engine sound from a tank exposed to fire is an indication of blast / explosion / BLEVE in a short time and all people including emergency responders should vacate the area to a safe distance.
6. No other flammable/combustible materials should be stored in the area.
7. The safe distance depends upon the maximum capacity of the storage tanks exposed to fire, the distance up to which blast fragments can travel, the distance up to which thermal radiation from a resulting fire ball can cause first degree burns, the distance up to which the over pressure can cause damage to the glass panes.
8. The name plate containing the details of the contents, capacity, design pressure, safe distance in case of fire along with emergency contact numbers should be displayed at a place easily visible and accessible, away from the storage area.
9. Periodical mock drills should be conducted to take prompt action in a real emergency.

Off-Site Emergency Response Plans: A Preparedness Tool - Fire Engineering

The Bhopal accident in 1984 led to promulgation of an Act in 1986 to identify hazardous substances, notify the inventories and prepare for emergencies by planning, notification and reporting. It is stated that for chlorine, if the quantity is above 100 pounds, one has to comply with this Act and there are about 350 chemicals in the list.
Off-Site Emergency Response Plans: A Preparedness Tool - Fire Engineering

LINK

LPG leak - lack of preparedness to attend emergency

As per reports (1, 2, 3, 4) appeared in news papers, an LPG tanker with 15 T of LPG, moving on the road had a brush with tree branches leading to crack on roto gauge and LPG release.
Immediately driver and a resident in the area informed it to the fire brigade. The fire brigade and the police after reaching the spot in 15 minutes, started spraying water to dilute gas concentration and informed the supplier who reached after three hours without needed tools/materials.

The driver covered the crack with a cloth and the local fire brigade covered the crack with M-seal and POP after moving the vehicle to a school, away from traffic. Locals were advised by fire brigade not to lit/smoke in the area to avoid fire/explosion. The traffic was stopped ahead and diverted.

Emergency - rumours

I received an e-mail which warned all people to stay indoor for the next 24 hr as radiation from Fukushima reactor explosion can spread across nearby nations. Even some friends also were seen discussing about the same. I do not know how is it possible when the incident is not like what happened in Chernobyl in 1986. A search in the internet reveals that this advise is for people staying within 30 km of the nuclear plant and not for everybody on the globe. The denial at BBC website is available here.

Nuclear emergency in Japan

The earthquake on 11.03.2011 followed with tsunami and nuclear emergency at Fukushima reminded me of Murphy's law. There was power outage. The pumps for cooling the reactors could not be operated by DG sets. The engineers of the nuclear plant are trying hard with available limited resources. Already there are reports of increase in radiation levels.

What lessons we can learn from this incident in a chemical plant?

Emergency escape routes - not available during emergency

Recently, a fire incident was reported in the basement  of an office building in which three persons lost their lives. The reason for the death is not due to burns but because of asphyxiation. It is also reported that the fire fighters were unable to carryout rescue operations due to blocking of access and ventilation systems. About 10 years ago, a restaurant in Delhi airport also caught fire which started from the kitchen and people were unable to switchoff the exhaust (that spread the fire) as the switch was located at height and was not accessible.
Emergency accessories like manual call point, fire extinguishers, outward opening doors (emergency doors), stairs are those which we do not use day-to-day and it is seen in most of the establishments particularly in office buildings that these are blocked with junk items. The space under stairs is normally used as junkyard to keep mostly discarded chairs, tables, files, etc which are combustible. In basement areas, any fire involving these materials spreads fast due to natural draft and the same stairs which are required for fire fighting can't be used due to smoke coming up and due to poor visibility.
If fire fighters are equipped with fire resistant suits, self contained breathing apparatus and infra red cameras, only then they can approach the source to extinguish the fire. Else, they can become mute spectators. But, the building owners  and others find it easy to blame the fire fighters for not doing anything, though the reason is because of greediness and shortsightedness of the building owners to ensure free access, maintain the areas free from combustibles and keeping constant vigil in these areas.
Some establishments provide fire extinguishers only to satisfy municipal authorities but they can be found behind some tables, or they are used to hold personal belongings like shirts, bags, etc and make them invisible. Sand buckets are generally used by employees as spittoons. If any construction or minor civil works are to be done, then these sand buckets are used for taking water, concrete, etc. The valve of the fire hydrant in the building (if provided) will be normally blocked with chairs. Or, the hydrant may not be in charged condition. Or, there is no water in the sump meant for this fire hydrant system.
In some buildings, the doors to emergency stairs are locked and this defeats the basic purpose of providing alternate stairs for use during emergency.
Many times the reason for fire is attributed to short circuit. A factory inspector in Tamilnadu based on his personal experience said that actually this is not at all the reason and if people can't find the reason, then they say short circuit as the reason. If short circuit is the reason, then all electrical wiring should be checked every year for their healthiness as we check earth pit resistance and electrical continuity between the switch and the earth pit. It should be made mandatory and checking should be done by only by approved third parties. Insurance companies should insist on these checks before providing the insurance cover. All basement areas and important rooms should be provided with CCTV cameras for surveillance. All corridors should have fluorescent (radiant) markings in the direction of nearest exit so that even in case of power failure one can see the glowing signs and escape. Emergency lights should be provided in the corridors and along the escape routes to provide minimum illumination. These lights should be capable of functioning atleast 30 minutes so that rescue operations also can be conducted. For high rise buildings, these lights should function for more duration as assessed by the fire services or similar agency.

Some pictures are shown below where fire fighting accessories are blocked/misused.Such conditions can be avoided and fire safety awareness can be increased among all employees including those in administration and similar services to ensure availability and misuse. These photos were collected from various online safety resources and their effort to create safety awareness and ensure safe workplace is acknowledged.

Fire extinguishers as door stopper

FE in safe custody?

Unsafe storage of chemicals

Bocked emegency door

Emergency exit?

NDTV Video of LPG Tanker explosion

There is a video of an LPG road tanker explosion occurred in Turkey. The video was captured in a cell phone camera. It shows the impact of pressure wave generated by the explosion in the form of fall of persons, light emitted during explosion, widespread damage to property and a crater in the road.
This reminds me of an incident where an LPG tanker toppled and fell on the road. Without understanding the hazard of explosion any time, passersby gathered around. Even the company officials took more than a day to put it on the road and tow away.
In another incident an ammonia tanker fell on the road. However, in this case, the road was blocked, the company officials promptly transferred the content to another vessel and cleared the area in a few hours.

Though everyone should be careful, it is the responsibility of the transporter and the manufacturer of the chemicals to ensure that transport containers are fit for road journey, the drivers know what to do in an emergency and are trained to handle the situation. Normally, the behavior of the public at large is to gather and watch. So, the driver of the vehicle, in an emergency, should caution and drive away the public to safe distance so that they are safe in case of any eventuality.

Recurrence of accidents - lack of safety culture

We read a number of industrial and road accidents in news papers. It appears that we never learn and never want to learn also. In factories, we do not follow even the well laid out rules of various statutes and established procedures and on the road, we do not respect the others on the road. We are in hurry always and we do not want to start a bit early. Even if the other person on the road is wrong, if we avoid showing our road rage, we can avoid many of the accidents.

In the factory, regular monitoring of operating parameters, keeping an ear for the noises from the machines,motors, agitators, equipment; monitoring process and storage inventories; leaving the aisles free from obstructions, interacting with shop floor employees, self discipline by employees, etc can reduce accidents. But, most of the supervisors and engineers appear to be stuck to the tables. When there is no monitoring, then it leads to bypassing of procedures, wrong reporting and complacency. This also gives a wrong signal to new recruits.

Most of the plant layouts also appear to be congested. We put more and more equipment in the same area  and whatever planned during initial setup with sufficient space will not be seen after future capacity additions. This congestion also leads to unsafe conditions and can endanger the lives of employees in emergency.

If the rot is not attended in the beginning stage, then even the best management expert can't do anything. When we compromise the above safety issues for the fear of unrest, union problems, unrealistic production goals, then so be it and see the deterioration of safety culture and one day, you may close the shop temporarily for a few months or permanently.

Wrist band tool to identify persons in danger and help in Safe Evacuation

A demo found in youtube on above subject is available here.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdTIYvKhhoc