Mumbai: 70 percent of all fires reported in city in last four years caused by defective electric circuits

Recent fires in high-rise buildings have raised a concern of safety. The data received from Mumbai Fire brigade (MFB) reveals that 70% of the fires reported in the city in the last four years were caused by defective electric circuits.

A fire due to electric short circuits in Tardeo's Sachinam Heights took 9 lives in January 2022. Similarly, a massive fire injured six residents of Railview building in Kurla at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminal on October 8. The MFB's primary investigation found that the fire was caused by electric circuits.

According to the MFB data, 17,527 fires were reported from 2019 to 2022. Out of it 12,117 were of electric-origin.

The main reasons for the short circuits are lack of maintenance, poor quality of materials used for wiring and overloading. After the fire in Sachinam Heights, a decision was taken by higher authorities to make electrical audits of buildings mandatory. "So far we have received new instructions or any advisory from the state government," said the senior fire official.

Prabhat Rahandale, former chief fire officer of MFB said, "Maintenance of wiring should be done on a regular basis. Area like Kalbadevi has hanging wires. What one can do is while increasing utility, evaluation should be done and wiring should be changed accordingly."

Most electrical fires are caused by faulty electrical outlets and old, outdated appliances, faulty lamps and light fixtures, misuse of extension cords, outdated wiring often causes electrical fires.

Precautions

Never use an appliance with a worn or frayed cord, which can send heat onto combustible surfaces like floors, curtains, and rugs that can start a fire.

Appliances should be plugged directly into outlet and not plugged into an extension cord for any length of time.

If wiring in house is several years old, it may not have the wiring capacity to handle the increased amounts of electrical appliances so it should be upgraded.