Hyderabad high-rises need fire evacuation mechanisms

Hyderabad has more than dozens of high-rise buildings, but as per Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services, the fire brigade has just two ladders that could reach up to 18 floors (65 metres, approximately). This may make fire fighting and evacuation of people difficult, particularly in such high-rise buildings, if the fire breaks out over 18 floors, observes another fire expert

Hyderabad: After a fire accident in an e-bike showroom and the hotel in Secunderabad where eight people died and 11 others were injured, the fire which was believed to be due to a short circuit while the deaths and injuries were mainly due to asphyxiation.

This incidence has brought a fire safety of buildings and particularly, high-rise buildings in Hyderabad on anvil. The rising incidents of fire underline the need for installing fire evacuation mechanisms to save the lives and assets, observe fire safety and evacuation experts.

"Fire evacuation is one of the most important parts of fire safety management. In chronic fire emergencies, people and assets need to be evacuated first before we could lose them. Further, the fire officers, the first respondents to fire calls, who rush to rescue the people stranded amid fire, need to be supported with well-guarded, sophisticated fire evacuation solutions. The need is all the more necessary in high-rise buildings, which are prone to fire risks, as the fire officers may find it difficult to reach higher floors; if the buildings lack proper fire evacuation systems," said Dr Deepak Monga, HC Advocacy, Fire Evacuation and Safety Expert who has a long-standing experience in evaluating fire evacuation needs and standards of cities in India including Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Hyderabad has more than dozens of high-rise buildings, but as per Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services, the fire brigade has just two ladders that could reach up to 18 floors (65 metres, approximately). This may make fire fighting and evacuation of people difficult, particularly in such high-rise buildings, if the fire breaks out over 18 floors, observes another fire expert. A resident of one of the high-rise buildings in the city said on a condition of anonymity that people living in higher floors of a high-rise building have now started realizing the need for having adequate fire evacuation and safety systems, which would evacuate them in events of drastic fires. "There is a fear in people's minds about their safe rescue in fire emergencies, as the fates of residents will completely depend on how fast the fire officers reach to the fire sites on higher floors engulfed with blazes. In fire situations where the blazes go vertical and visibility is almost zero due to the smoke, how the fire officers would reach higher floors to douse the fire and evacuate people?" asks the resident. "The city of Hyderabad and the State as a whole, must have a standard code to establish the fire evacuation systems like Maharashtra has," he added.

"Fire – borne deaths and injuries happen mostly due to asphyxiation, as carbon monoxide plays its role in fire situations. In order to avoid any loss of humans or valuable assets in fire emergencies and in order to help the Fire Brigade Officers launch their fire dousing and rescue operations, it is imperative to have quality fire evacuation mechanisms like Fire Evacuation Lifts, which may help the fire officers to evacuate people and assets," added Dr Monga.

Dr Monga pointed out the need for a State of Telangana to have a notification on the lines of Maharashtra to make fire evacuation lifts mandatory in high-rise buildings. "In Hyderabad, all high-rise buildings over the height of 15 metres and above should install fire evacuation lifts, which would help the fire officers reach higher floors faster and evacuate 10-15 people in less than three minutes at one time. Such lifts may prove to be a boon, as these are designed with advanced technologies like IoT, a trap door for emergency exit, a cabin up of non-combustible material, side panels with ceramic wool with a two-hour fire rating, etc., provide a perfect evacuation solution to people."

The State of Telangana witnessed about 706 serious fire outbreak and 49,554 small incidents from 2014 to 2019, show the records. In 2015, the State had drafted the Telangana Lifts Bill. Currently, the responsibility of maintaining lifts lies with the members of housing society and apartment associations. Incidentally, only eight States in India have a law on elevator safety.