Only wedding bells No fire alarms

As on August 2, about 250 function halls have been issued notices and only 11 of them have so far acquired a No Objection Certificate

The month of Sravana is considered to be an auspicious time to get married. Many function and wedding halls in the city face a huge demand from customers for the season. But, one also has to keep in mind the safety aspect of these function halls in the advent of a natural or manmade disaster. As the wedding season sets, the function halls turn to places of mass assembly. It has been quite evident that recently many buildings in the city have fallen prey to fire accidents.

To make sure that function halls do not become victims of a fire accident, the Fire Prevention Wing (FPW) of the GHMC, has been conducting regular checks on function halls of the city. As on August 2, some 250 function halls have been issued notices and only 11 of them have so far acquired a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the FPW. For a building to obtain a NOC, it has to be in compliance with the fire-prevention bylaws of the National Building Code (NBC).

C Lakshmi Prasad, Additional Director, FPW says, “These function halls are places of mass assembly during the wedding season. So it is of utmost importance for them to be fire proof. They need to be in complete compliance with the NBC bylaws. If they aren’t, they are given a six-month abeyance period to rework on their building plan and incorporate all the safety procedures.”

According to the Additional Director there are two types of function halls, one being the open-garden type and the other being closed function halls. The open garden type function halls are comparatively safer as there is a lot of open space for people to escape in case of a calamity. But, the closed function halls pose a severe threat during a large gathering. According to the NBC bylaws, buildings of this type should possess escape chutes incase the staircases are blocked by the flames. They must also possess proper ventilation systems so that the smoke does not accumulate in the building premises. Apart from the ventilation system, they must also have automatic sprinklers, a fixed fire hose and a hydrant along with a fire alarm system.

The most hazardous activity in the function halls takes place at the cooking section where fire is used. For a wedding, the food is usually prepared in large quantities. So a lot of cooking gas cylinders are used.

“If there are 100 kg or more of LPG stored in the building, they have to acquire a NOC from the Deputy Controller of Explosives, who will inspect the method of storage. But, many people in the city do not store the cylinders. They use a manifold and extinguish the gas at one go. In such cases a NOC is not required,” said C Lakshmi Prasad. Apart from the gas cylinders the other threat to the function halls is the electric wiring. If the wiring is not checked at regular intervals it always increases the odds of a fire breaking out.

According to the Additional Commissioner, the most basic things that are required to keep the premises of a function hall safe are a static storage water tank, a clearly demarcated fire exit and proper maintenance and storage of inflammable items.