Responsibility for property damage in a fire

It is common to read in news papers about fire incidents, property damage and accusations of fire services for delay in reaching the incident. But, the main culprit is the owner/tenant of the premises. One should check what measures are taken by the owner/tenant of the premises. There would not have been any fire incident, had all precautions like storing of the materials properly, using proper electrical wiring, avoiding ignition sources, etc are followed and maintained. Similarly, fire detection, warning and protection system should be in place so that even in case of fire, the damage can be minimum. However, hardly any of these measures are taken or followed.
Every building should have sufficient ground storage water and sufficient distance around the building free from obstructions. However, greediness overtakes fire safety measures and all available space is used for creating some more commercial space. Having water for fire safety is not thought at all. All these failures are overlooked and fire department is accused for not reaching the fire incident place quickly.

Fire safety of the buildings

In the aftermath of the fire in Maharashtra's Secretariat building Mantralaya last week, an article appeared in Times of India on 24.06.2012 stating the review of fire safety in all buildings and maintaining the minimum requirements (as per National Building Code) to fight fire. They are,

1. maintaining atleast 6 m radius around the buildings free space to enable fire tender movement (this is also to be maintained free from trees and vegetation so that any fire involving them will not lead to fire in the building)
2. have fire detection and alarm system
3. have fire hydrants, wet riser, hose reel and automatic sprinkler system
4. have atleast 75,000 liter underground water tank and atleast 10,000 liter terrace tank exclusively for fire fighting
5. maintain atleast minimum number of (portable) fire extinguishers
6. have emergency lighting in and around the building
7. have one single switch in every building (at an easily identifiable and accessible location) to cut off power supply in case of short circuits (obviously this should be located in the main corridor, preferably at the entrance of the building)
8. have radiant (self luminescent) emergency exit direction markings along the corridor to the nearest exits
9. not blocking / locking the emergency exits / stairs with unwanted materials
10. test electrical systems also regularly to avoid overload/short circuit (as for any fire, people immediately show short circuit as the reason)
11. have CCTV surveillance system
12. display cautionary boards like do not smoke
13. remove the waste/scrap every day
14. test the systems regularly to see and ensure functioning of all fire protection system
15. have nodal officer in every building responsible for fire safety
16. conduct drills to all occupants to prepare them in case of any fire mishap
17. etc

The above guidelines will help in protecting the persons and property from fire mishaps.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-24/hyderabad/32392807_1_wet-riser-fire-mishap-detection-and-alarm-system

12 Fire Prevention Tips for Workers

An article from safetyxchange like the previous one.
12 Fire Prevention Tips for Workers