In 2022 alone, a record 2500 building approvals have been given by BMC to fulfill the rising demand. About 12,000 high-rise projects are under construction, but the question is whether these high-rise constructions are fire-free or not. In 2022, Mumbai reported a total of 1996 fire calls, of which one was a level 4 call (major fire), one a level 3 call (medium fire), 12 level 2 calls (also medium fire), and 26 level 1 call (small fires). Looking at the current situation of high-rise constructions in Mumbai and other developing cities of Maharashtra, the government pays attention to fire safety and evacuation measures to prevent the loss of human lives. The Maharashtra Energy Department has made the advisory in July 2022 to install Fire Evacuation Lift in new buildings having heights 70 meters or above, for faster and safer evacuation during fire accidents.
Speaking on the advisory, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, “With the infrastructure development, the risk of fire safety and evacuation has increased over the years, but the fire brigade department has never failed to save the lives and property of civilians. The Maharashtra Energy Department’s new circular on installing Fire Evacuation Lifts in high-rise buildings is a visionary step as it will make the evacuation process easy and faster for firefighters. Now, we must follow all the rules and regulations made by the Maharashtra Energy Department to ascertain the preparedness to fight fire emergencies. Awareness of the possible causes and hazards of fire breakouts by the civilians and infra developers can make Maharashtra a fire-free state.”
Sanjay Manjrekar, Chief Fire Officer of Mumbai, said, “The joint efforts of the citizens and the fire department can make the city fire free. Throughout the year, we continuously try to sensitize the citizens regarding fire safety through mock drills, awareness programs, lectures, training, demonstrations, etc. Looking at the fires in recent months in the city, specifically in the high rises, we need to have evacuation solutions in place. Accordingly, the concept of Fire Evacuation Lifts was already implemented in 2018 after the approval of Honorable M.C. This will help in self-evacuation of occupants as well as firefighters in case of fire emergencies. An adequate evacuation solution and proper training can save millions of lives during fire accidents. So, help us to help you!”
Industry expert Dr. Vikram Mehta, MD, SPARTAN Fire Evacuation Lift, said, “Our firefighters are the real superheroes who fight to save the lives of people. In recent years, the rising number of high-rise constructions has made the job of firefighters riskier as they have to walk through stairs on higher floors with 25 to 30kg weight of equipment to douse the fire and evacuate people. A fire evacuation lift is an effective solution for firefighters to reach higher floors faster and to ensure occupants of safer living in high-rise buildings. It’s time to save our saviors – the firemen!”
The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) receives 6000 to 7000 emergency calls in a year, of which nearly 90% are fire-related complaints. In fire accidents, not only lives but people lose their assets. It has been registered that property worth over Rs 90 crore was damaged in fires in 12 years.
Samadhan Devare, Divisional Fire Officer at Thane, said, “Every year we do training and awareness programs to educate people on the subject of fire safety and evacuation. Our efforts are to make sure every high-rise building in Thane is safe. The Fire Evacuation Lift for the high-rise buildings is a relief for the firefighters as it helps them in faster and safer evacuation. Firemen can reach higher floors faster and douse the fire on time before it turns into a blaze. The support of societies, builders, developers, and civilians will make the city safer.”
