Maharashtra ranked fourth in the country in terms of maximum major blazes, after Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Of the 767 fire related casualties in Maharashtra, 442 were women.
Citizens and authorities must work jointly to prevent blazes. While citizens need to take the responsibility of maintaining firefighting equipment and holding regular mock drills, the authorities must hold surprise inspections and work around manpower issues. Fires in residential premises have a higher chance of leading to loss of life and not just property. Women are more vulnerable as many stay back to look after the house and kids while the men go out to work. Functional firefighting systems in buildings will help the fire department contain a fire to a smaller area and extinguish it quickly.
“Women are typically the first to enter the kitchen and the last to leave, making them more vulnerable where it comes to domestic fires,” says forensic fire investigator Nilesh Ukunde. About 28% of all fires in the state were caused from stove burst or cooking gas cylinder explosions last year.
“During festivals, women tend to sit on the floor in close proximity to the stove and the LPG cylinder for making snacks. As cylinder pressure increases, gas could leak from the joint where the rubber tube is attached to the stove. Being heavier, LPG stays back in the room and mere friction could cause it to ignite,” said Ukunde, adding that people rarely bother to change the rubber tube.
One of the reasons why fires in residential premises are higher than those in commercial establishments is that compliance is taken very seriously in the latter. “In several residential premises, firefighting equipment may be installed but does not function when required. Also commercial establishments are not occupied round the clock like most residential structures,” said Prakash Devdas, president, Mumbai Fire Brigade Officers Association.
He said the fire department does not have adequate staff to inspect multiple fully-occupied premises in the city. Recently the Mumbai Fire Brigade was unable to start a mini fire station at Santacruz owing to a lack of staff. The fire brigade currently has 750 vacant posts and hasn’t been able to recruit more personnel due to the pandemic.
Typically, in prominent commercial spaces, there is a housekeeping agency which monitors encroachments in common areas or refuge floors. “But in residential areas, there have been several instances of refuge areas and common spaces being encroached, sometimes to the extent of househelps using it for staying or cooking. Buildings should be designed very carefully with toilets not located above meter boxes as in case of a leakages from the toilet, sparks erupt from the meter box and no one may realize till things get serious,” said Shirish Sukhatme, former president of Practicing Engineers Architects and Town Planners Association.
But awareness about fire safety is low. Building managements often skip maintenance of fire equipment and mock drills are almost never carried out. “A life-saving apparatus like a fire extinguisher could turn into a ‘life-taking apparatus’ if not maintained properly,” said Ukunde, adding that when a fire breaks out, the first few seconds are crucial. Whether it was the Ahmednagar blaze involving children or the one in Pune where victims were so badly charred that DNA tests were required for identification, those who escaped or were pulled out soon were the ones that survived.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/women-are-victims-in-over-half-of-blazes-in-maharashtra/articleshow/87678760.cms
