Context: The Delhi’s Malviya Nagar fire incident has raised serious concerns about fire safety enforcement in India. India continues to repeat tragedies like the Uphaar Cinema fire (1997) and the Kumbakonam school fire (2004) with no meaningful lessons learned.
Regulatory Framework
- National Building Code (NBC):
- Published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in 1970 and last updated in 2016.
- Fire safety instructions are contained in Part 4 of the NBC dealing specifically with safety from fire.
- NBC is a mandatory requirement for state governments to incorporate into their local building bylaws.
- Fire services are a state subject included in the 12th Schedule of the Constitution making states responsible for fire prevention.
- Other Frameworks:
- Model Building Bye Laws 2016 issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs guide states in framing building bylaws.
- NDMA guidelines cover fire safety at homes, schools and hospitals including evacuation drills and protected exit mechanisms.
Key NBC Fire Safety Rules
- Residential, educational and institutional buildings fall under Fire Zone 1 and must not coexist with industrial or hazardous structures.
- Construction must use non-combustible materials with a minimum 120-minute fire resistance rating for staircase enclosures.
- Electrical installations must have flame-retardant wiring with high, medium and low voltage wiring run in separate sealed shafts.
- Buildings must have emergency power systems, exit signage, fire alarms and public address systems for safe evacuation.
- Technologies like automatic fire detection, sprinklers, dry riser pipelines and water sprays must be incorporated.
Compliance Challenges
- NBC guidelines are not mandatory nationally leading to inconsistent enforcement across different localities and states.
- Even mandatory certifications have loopholes as the code allows fire services to grant exemptions due to practical difficulties.
- In the Rajkot accident, the building used metal sheets, lacked a mandatory NOC from the fire department and had no fire-fighting equipment.
- Authorities responsible for fire safety are chronically understaffed and rarely conduct audits allowing hazards to persist.
- A 2020 NIDM report criticised authorities for inaction and failure to learn from previous fire tragedies consistently.
Way Forward
- Enact a uniform and mandatory national fire safety code binding on all states and local authorities without exception.
- Implement mandatory fire safety audits for all buildings with strict penalties for non-compliance.
- State governments must prioritise investments in modern firefighting equipment and firefighter training.
- Launch public awareness campaigns on fire safety, evacuation procedures and building code compliance.
- Integrate fire safety education into school curricula to build a culture of fire safety from a young age.
- Conduct regular fire safety mock drills so communities know how to respond during emergencies.
- Mandate use of fire-resistant furniture, wall coverings and self-extinguishing building materials in all constructions.
- Encourage installation of advanced sprinkler systems, misting technologies and smog containment devices to prevent suffocation.
Conclusion: Every preventable fire death represents a failure of governance, not just an accident. India must move from reactive response to proactive enforcement of fire safety norms to protect the lives of its citizens with the dignity they deserve.
