Numerous warnings fall on deaf ears

By Ram M Sundaram  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 01st June 2017 01:21 AM  |  

CHENNAI: Narrow streets that make it difficult to take fire tenders inside, lack of minimum setback space, absence of separate fire service stairways, accommodating kitchen and storage facilities on the upper floors — almost every single factor that exacerbated the fire was known to authorities, who, however, failed to take action to rectify the fatal drawbacks.

Following a petition by local residents, the Madras High Court had in 2015 directed the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) to inspect multi-storey buildings in the area. The report that the force submitted — which incidentally included Chennai Silks, the building that stood burning for hours on Wednesday — had revealed serious concerns that made T Nagar a tinderbox waiting for a trigger.

According to Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) rules, width of access roads for multi-storey buildings from a public road should be 12-18 metres. However, the width of such access roads to commercial buildings, especially ones at Ranganathan Street and Usman Road were narrow, reported the fire service.

For instance, entrances to Usman Road on either side of the flyover near Chennai Silks are only 3.7m and 4.9m wide, making the entry of fire tenders and other emergency vehicles very difficult. The TNFRS assessment was proven right, when firemen struggled to bring in aerial ladder platforms.

Also, the report pointed out that none of the 150 buildings that were inspected met setback requirement of 7m around the building for access to fire vehicles. Most did not have separate fire service staircases, and in the case of those which had, the path was obstructed with heavy good storage, making quick evacuation impossible.

Despite death of three employees in an accident in one of these commercial establishments, upper stories of buildings were continued to be used as kitchens, dining halls and storage rooms, which cramped the escape route without ventilation and low roofing. The inspection team found that Very Early Warning Smoke Detection Apparatus was dysfunctional in most buildings.