Emergency accessories like manual call point, fire extinguishers, outward opening doors (emergency doors), stairs are those which we do not use day-to-day and it is seen in most of the establishments particularly in office buildings that these are blocked with junk items. The space under stairs is normally used as junkyard to keep mostly discarded chairs, tables, files, etc which are combustible. In basement areas, any fire involving these materials spreads fast due to natural draft and the same stairs which are required for fire fighting can't be used due to smoke coming up and due to poor visibility.
If fire fighters are equipped with fire resistant suits, self contained breathing apparatus and infra red cameras, only then they can approach the source to extinguish the fire. Else, they can become mute spectators. But, the building owners and others find it easy to blame the fire fighters for not doing anything, though the reason is because of greediness and shortsightedness of the building owners to ensure free access, maintain the areas free from combustibles and keeping constant vigil in these areas.
Some establishments provide fire extinguishers only to satisfy municipal authorities but they can be found behind some tables, or they are used to hold personal belongings like shirts, bags, etc and make them invisible. Sand buckets are generally used by employees as spittoons. If any construction or minor civil works are to be done, then these sand buckets are used for taking water, concrete, etc. The valve of the fire hydrant in the building (if provided) will be normally blocked with chairs. Or, the hydrant may not be in charged condition. Or, there is no water in the sump meant for this fire hydrant system.
In some buildings, the doors to emergency stairs are locked and this defeats the basic purpose of providing alternate stairs for use during emergency.
Many times the reason for fire is attributed to short circuit. A factory inspector in Tamilnadu based on his personal experience said that actually this is not at all the reason and if people can't find the reason, then they say short circuit as the reason. If short circuit is the reason, then all electrical wiring should be checked every year for their healthiness as we check earth pit resistance and electrical continuity between the switch and the earth pit. It should be made mandatory and checking should be done by only by approved third parties. Insurance companies should insist on these checks before providing the insurance cover. All basement areas and important rooms should be provided with CCTV cameras for surveillance. All corridors should have fluorescent (radiant) markings in the direction of nearest exit so that even in case of power failure one can see the glowing signs and escape. Emergency lights should be provided in the corridors and along the escape routes to provide minimum illumination. These lights should be capable of functioning atleast 30 minutes so that rescue operations also can be conducted. For high rise buildings, these lights should function for more duration as assessed by the fire services or similar agency.
Some pictures are shown below where fire fighting accessories are blocked/misused.Such conditions can be avoided and fire safety awareness can be increased among all employees including those in administration and similar services to ensure availability and misuse. These photos were collected from various online safety resources and their effort to create safety awareness and ensure safe workplace is acknowledged.
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| Fire extinguishers as door stopper |
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| FE in safe custody? |
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| Unsafe storage of chemicals |
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| Bocked emegency door |
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| Emergency exit? |
