Don't wait until the fire is at your doorstep

The big tragedy in Mumbai was a fire breaking out at a high rise in Parel. There were fatalities and injuries because of the fire, families shattered dreams snuffed out. The fire brings to the fore our preparedness as citizens to battle fires or even stay safe in the eventuality of a fire at home or the workplace. It is imperative that residential buildings install fire fighting equipment on every floor. Often, we see that residents are very casual, even if the extinguishers are installed, there will be 90 per cent of people who do not know how to use them.

Building committees need to call in an expert for a demonstration. Most importantly, though, the residents need to attend the demonstration. Have refresher visits by the expert so that residents know how to use them. The hero of yesterday's fire was a 10-year-old girl who put lessons learnt to good use and saved lives, too. Clear staircases of obstruction so that people can move out quickly in case of a fire. We often see that in buildings, the staircase and stairwells are occupied by children's bicycles, cupboards, mattresses, old furniture, etc. Keep that out and the building society committee must be very strict in ensuring that this happens.

Residents need to adhere to this because, after all, it is for their benefit. Put up signs that one should not use the lift, but staircase in case of a fire. The space outside building gates need to be free, yet another challenge in an impossibly crowded city like Mumbai. Expired fire extinguishers, refuge areas that are locked or even shockingly converted to store rooms, dangerous wiring, flammable material on staircases and stairwells are all huge hazards. Let us not wait for fires to learn our lessons. Preparedness and caution is on top of the fire fighting agenda.

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