Bangalore fire

[sub]

Hi Forum Members

I feel deeply sorry for all those who lost their lives in the Bangalore Fire and felt shocked that nothing went right because of the violation of all the fire safety norms on that building, so I request all fellow forum members who work on high raised building to take care of themselves and others against fire by taking some initiative towards fire safety.

Regards

Sub

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[santhosh]

Yes Sub, this was a case of total chaos. It was shocking to see people jumping off the upper floors of the building hoping to land on a net\mattress which they were not even sure existed. I am unable to imagine the situation on these floors. On discussing the possibilities with my friends/colleagues and family, our guess is that the smoke was choking the people stuck there and hence they might have thought about this exteme step where chances of survival was 10:90. My thoughts are with their families.

This emphasizes the importance of safety fire drills. I am glad I work for a company which understands the importance of these drills. My employer conducts safety drills on an adhoc basis and we are not told if it is real or a routine drill. This prepares us to face a real time situation. Let me use this thread to share the process so that members can urge their employers to implement these safety procedures.

We have a HSW(Health Safety and Well Being) team which appoints a few trained volunteers as Fire Wardens. We even have secondary Fire Wardens in the warden is on leave. These fire wardens (multiple for each floor) wear a safety helmet and take up the responsibility of evacuating the floor in a structured manner. The Fire wardens instruct us to evacuate the floor via the fire exit and not to use the lift. They also instruct us not to take our belongings unless they are precious and can fit in our pockets or purses. On every desk, there is a lookup document called "Building Emergency Procedures" which contains information about floor map, exits and important contact numbers. After the warden thinks everyone has evacuated, he/she ascertains (with help of volunteers) if someone is in the washrooms, meeting rooms etc and then only leaves the floor. In a building with multiple floors, the lower floors are evacuated first, thus ensuring the stairs are free to avoid stampedes. The employees then head towards a designated assembly point where they will be briefed by the Chief Fire Warden (who uses a horn loaded propaganda equipment) about the status of the fire and what their next steps should be.

I have been in a real time fire situation in Melbourne where I had to climb down 30 floors using the stairs. It was an eye-opener for me and I saw the benefits of these safety procedures. There was absolutely no panic inspite of confirmed information that there was a fire, people just make their way to the assembly point for further instructions.

Every employee also has to take up an online training cum evaluation which trains us on these emergency procedures. We also need to take up a quick version with evaluation every 18 months so we stay updated on any changes to the procedure.

 

[captrajesh]

Hi Forum Members

I feel deeply sorry for all those who lost their lives in the Bangalore Fire and felt shocked that nothing went right because of the violation of all the fire safety norms on that building, so I request all fellow forum members who work on high raised building to take care of themselves and others against fire by taking some initiative towards fire safety.

Regards

Sub

I feel very sorry :sad: for the loved ones of those departed souls who would be suffering the most.

Incidentally, my office is also located in a multi-storied complex. As a security manager of the Bank it was my moral responsibility to organise a disaster recovery plan and also train those who work in the complex.

Hence, I called on the Director General of Fire & Rescue Services of Tamilnadu yesterday to organise a fire drill at our complex. He has assured me of all the requisite help. This can be only expected of him, a thorough gentleman that he is whom I know personally as we happen to play Golf in the same course.

I request all members to share my concern and contribute by doing/organising something constructive work for a safer environment to live in.

 

[santhosh]

Captain, please let me know if you need more information. I can try and get more information for you from our HSW team. My organisation is very strict about information disclosure (rightfully so as we are a leading Australian Bank) but I don't think this information would be classified as confidential.

 

[captrajesh]

Captain, please let me know if you need more information. I can try and get more information for you from our HSW team.

Thank you very much Santhol. Our Bank already has SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) which are based on 'National Building Code Part IV' which is relevant in this regard.

My intention of conducting a fire drill is to educate many other private organisations that we are sharing the complex with who have sizable headcount, who may not have any expertise in this regard.

Thank you for sharing my concern.

Warm regards


Rajesh

 

[kaushik]

There will be temporary changes in already well p)equipped fire rescue teams here in city because of the incident...

Safety norms and drills are way to go ...

Smaller buildings must keep fire escape ladders :

 

[sub]

Hi

As Captain and Santhol had said I want every one to take a step (even if it is the first and even if they have to fight with the management) to save precious life from such disasters.

Regards

Sub

Video: Panny 32 LCD, PS3, Sony DVP-NS78H, Samsung DVD-P365H, WDTV, Big TV.
Audio: Yamaha RX-V661, Sansui G-5000, Hand Made Towers for stereo, Pioneer Linear Power for HT with Onkyo SL-107 powered sub.

 

[marsilians]

I agree with Capt. and santhol that everyone should understand the fire evacuation procedures and also ensure other people around them do as well. This will ensure that lives are saved.

On a side topic, I also urge members to formally get trained on CPR as well as I have seen both death and life saving around swimming pools in Bangalore and New Delhi.

 

[thevortex]

I read in today's paper that this disaster was mainly due to monetary considerations and illegal construction by the building owners themselves. Shame on them.

And I hope all our Bangalore members are safe and sound. Did anybody work in that building or around that area that fateful day? Just curious.

 

[kaushik]

Oil cooled transformers near to a building are also big fire risk.. check it out if u can spot one near to your office building .