Painful Incidences of Fires In Buildings??
NEWS: "Mumbai: Kamala Mill Fire: A day after 14 lives were lost in a devastating blaze at a Mumbai pub.....to ensure that safety norms........The fire brigade is trying to confirm whether flames from a fire stunt by a bartender, burning coal used for hookah, short circuit or anything else led to the fire..........However, the pub had on Friday claimed that it had all the necessary approvals and safety norms in place."
News items as above come and go, as every time an investigating committee is commissioned and some irregularities are assigned to accidents. Legal proceedings are initiated for pinning down the defaulters, which is an unending, time consuming exercise.
Every time I read news of any accident of fire in a Building or Industry, where blatant genocide is taking place. It reminds me that at one point of time in one of the Hindi news papers it used to publish a daily statistics from local trains in Mumbai, of persons falling to death or becoming injured from local trains in Mumbai. The caption had very apt title "Kaatil Local". How true it was?? I used to wonder who really Kaatil is.....the Local Train Driver or Indian Railways Management or passengers / travellers. It really is a bothersome thought.
While doing Safety audits of various buildings, industries, plants etc., a common sight is seen as depicted in pictures above for the so called electrical cable connections / jointing. Every where we see such a non-standard / sub-standard engineering practice for electrical wiring & jointing. Some of the best of industries and most of industries don't mind such type of jobs due to inadequate knowledge and appreciation of associated hazards.
These silly loose connections / joints are a serious source of sparking and creating unwarranted heat. This incipient spark or heat gets converted into smoldering of wire's insulation & or electrical fittings. This start of incipient heat or fire, if not seen / identified and controlled will lead to actual burning of insulation and or associated heated electrical fittings. Now, this uncontrolled minor fire gets into blaze of fire and effects all around. Further more, unfortunately modern day interiors extensively use vinyl or plastic based items and during initial heat or smoldering stage, when these items get heated release toxic gases, which are detrimental to any living being for its natural breathing due to excessive release of toxic smoke and sudden lowering levels of Oxygen in the atmosphere.
These slip shots we can seen for electrical wiring joints in open or visible positions. What happens to those which get concealed behind the false ceiling / flooring or not evidently visible to users ?
Can we look at the root cause of these happenings? I wish all those reading this piece to elaborate possible root cause of such loose / sub-standard joints or engineering practices.
Freelance “Consultant" | Ex -BPCL | Ex - BHEL | Executive MBA with Excellence in Safety Management
7 年A friend of mine shared about similar incidence of fire in a hotel at Delhi, most Japanese & American guests staying in survived compared to others. On personal interactions, they shared that they were aware of what to do under such situations. Persons from both these countries explained that they blocked their individual rooms by pressing wet towels & bed sheets in the spaces /crevices between the door & floor and other such openings almost sealing any ingress of smoke from neighbouring rooms/ corridors under fire. Also they wrapped wet handkerchiefs on their noses, again to protect lungs with smoke going in and causing suffocation. This process lingered their survival time, till rescue came. One person also mentioned that he & others in his room lied down on the floor. and survived. On thinking about their action, we could find the answer that the fire smoke being lighter will remain denser on upper part of the rooms i.e. ceiling and find way to go out from ventilators or other openings at upper levels, therefore causing lesser suffocation at lower levels of the room. Such finer point if known to individuals and shared across can save many a lives. ....... I too am doing the same.....
Manager Health, Safety, Security & Environment, Ecomar Energy Solutions, ECOMAR Refinery, Fujairah, UAE.
7 年It was really sad that 14 people lost their life in a dreaded fire on building terrace Restaurant in Mumbai. Apart from all mismanagement from hotel there are all reasons from common people about ignorance and taking every thing easy when he is in a hazardous place. All educated persons who lives in high rise buildings or goes in posh restaurant's for dining shall be more careful and must take crash course on fire fighting and evacuation and escape from a good Fire fire fighting training centre..regards dwijottam chattopadhyay.
HSSE Manager at Petrofac International Limited
7 年Very Sad this incident case .....! We must educate our family members to look and remember emergency exit every building, shopping mall and hotels we visit. Its a lesson lesson learned incident-2017....Be Safe and live happy...!
Technology Recruitment Specialist | Solution based Recruiter | Ex-Shell
7 年Very sad to know about this incident, prayers are with those families who lost their loved ones. I read from news paper that this Resto-bar was functioning without having all the approvals which are needed for such type of bar. If this is true, then why there was no action from authorities. There were more causalities than expected, reason - narrow pathway, people got stuck in the rest room. Especially when it is in the terrace, then escape route need to have better access.