Civic body plans to educate the public on fire safety
Mumbai : Reams of paper and terra bytes of TV time have been exhausted profiling the unfortunate fire incidents that happened over the last fortnight in Mumbai. By now, one would have expected that there would be some soul searching and an exhaustive plan to fight the next towering inferno when it takes place. Worry not; the BMC has a master plan ready. It is called educating the public and preparing Mumbaikars to deal with such emergencies.
The fire at 21-storied Lake Lucerne building in Chandivali near Powai last Sunday that killed seven and injured 25 established one fact: very few societies or buildings in Mumbai know how to deal with infernos. Had the residents been more alert and prepared to deal with such a situation, the quantum of damage could have been minimised.
Given this belated enlightenment, the BMC has decided to educate people on the preventive measures that they can adopt in case of a fire. That this by itself is not a complete solution is another matter. Irregular structures? What’s that? Corruption while passing building plans? Never mind!
Sanjay Deshmukh, the BMC’s additional municipal commissioner who is in charge of the Mumbai fire brigade, has said that the BMC has plans of coming up with information, education and communication activities to create awareness on fire prevention among people, especially those living in high-rises.
The civic body plans to make innovative posters on fire prevention and have them displayed in a society’s premises. “We will start this exercise in the next few weeks,” he said.
In most fire incidents that take place in high-rises, most residents are not aware of what they are supposed to do when a fire breaks and what precautions they should take to avoid a fire.
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””]Steps to fight fire
Firstly, know your building well. Familiarise yourself with every area of your building, especially the exit point.
Switch off the power supply and sever the gas connection.
Do not take the lift to go down or on to the terrace. Take the staircase instead.
If your house has caught fire, close the main door from outside. As the main door is usually made of fire resistant material, it can contain the fire spreading to the adjacent house.
If you are caught in smoke, don’t stand. Simply get on your knees and crawl towards the nearest exit. “Staying low really helps, as smoke rises to the ceiling level first,” says an expert.
In case you get trapped in a room, close the doors between you and the fire. Place a wet cloth under the door to help prevent smoke from entering the room.
In case of heavy smoke, hold your breath as much as possible and breathe through your nose. Besides, use a filter such as a shirt, towel or handkerchief.[/alert]
