Avighna Park fire: A year on, electrical audit policy awaits nod

It has been a year since the fire in the 61-storey 1 Avighna Park at Currey Road, but the city is still waiting for measures to avoid such incidents. The electrical audit policy for buildings is still stuck in red tape. The BMC has now made it mandatory to install IoT (Internet of Things)-based systems in upcoming buildings, but the fire-fighting status of existing towers is in limbo.

On an average 16 fire incidents are reported every day in the city, out of which, 11 incidents are due to electrical failures. Last year, on October 22, a fire in Avighna Park claimed the life of a security guard and raised several questions about electrical safety even in high-rises. A fire in Tardeo's Sachinam Heights took 9 lives in January 2022. Though several reports and announcements have been made after every big fire, none of the measures suggested are implemented. One of them is a mandatory electrical audit of buildings. It appears that the state government is not serious about starting electrical audits of buildings as a precautionary measure.

'Have electrical audits'

"Electrical audits are necessary as electrical failures are a major cause of fires. If we curtail the cause, we can control over 80 per cent of incidents and damage due to it. The short circuits occur due to multiple reasons like bad maintenance, poor quality of materials and overloading. So just like fire audits which look into aspects like passage space, hurdle-free staircases, and the status of the fire-fighting system, an electrical audit can give an idea of the electrical system," said an official of Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Also Read: Mumbai: Over 90 per cent blazes in high-rises triggered by short circuits

On October 22, 2021 a fire in Avighna Park claimed the life of a security guard. Pic/Ashish Raje

The Mumbai Fire Brigade is responsible for dousing fires but it doesn't have the right to inspect the electrical system under the Maharashtra Fire Act. As per the provision of Section 36 of Central Electrical Regulations, 2010, the CEI (Chief Electrical Inspector under Industries, Energy and Labour Department) has to carry out the electrical audit of buildings. The amendment in the Fire Act is a lengthy process. The BMC conducted a meeting with CEI officials in January after the Tardeo fire and insisted on regular inspections of electrical installations of the buildings as per CER 2010 for high-rise and multi-storey buildings. But since then nothing has been done.

New norms on inspection

"The CEI team has drafted the new norms on inspection. As per the draft, all buildings four storeys or higher will have electrical audits every three years and priority will be given to SRA and MHADA buildings, which are prone to fire. The inspection will be carried out by the CEI's office," said Dinesh Khonde, CEI. He added, "We submitted the draft in June to the Law and Judiciary department for scrutiny. We can implement the norms once they are issued as a government notification which may take some time."

The BMC is taking steps for mandatory IoT for new buildings. Hemant Parab, chief fire officer, MFB said that the BMC has taken a decision to install IoT based micro-controller devices in the electrical installations to monitor various electrical parameters in all new high-rise residential and non-residential buildings. He added that the BMC will soon start public awareness campaigns.

"Though the cost has to be incurred by the builder and individual house owners, it will be useful in the long run," said the fire official. But the system is mandatory only for new buildings and the issue of electrical systems in old buildings continues. Of the 48,434 fire incidents from 2008 to 2018, 32,516 were because of short circuits.

What is IoT

IoT stands for Internet of Things. It refers to the connectivity of objects such as vehicles, buildings, electronic devices, etc through the internet. The internet network allows them to interact, collect and exchange data. Automatically turning off devices not being used at home and measuring air quality and radiation levels are examples of IoT.

Major incidents due to electrical short circuit

Avighna: A fire broke out at 19 the floor of the building at Currey Road. A security guard who went to save others lost his life.
Hansa Heritage: - A fire broke out on November 6 that killed two women and injured five residents in this Kandivli building.
Sachinam Heights: In total nine people died in this Tardeo building after a fire broke out on January 22.
Wadia Children's Hospital: A fire here on August 5 was quickly brought under control

16
Average no. of fire incidents per day in the city

11
Incidents caused by electrical failure