The New Indian Express 15.09.2010
How fire-safe are city’s commercial buildings?
As many as 5,278 of the 8,215 commercial buildings in Chennai have not obtained a fire licence, the Fire and Rescue Services Department said in its reply to an RTI query.
As per the official website of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, every establishment has to obtain a fire licence from the fire department prior to obtaining a licence to carry out business.
Counter to the rule, Chennai Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni says it is not compulsory for any commercial establishment to possess a fire license as a prerequisite for obtaining licence from the Corporation to run a business. “We only ensure that the shops or commercial establishments are situated and planned as per the (building) rules,” he said, implying that the Corporation does not have the power to seal or demolish any building for not obtaining a fire licence.
“I agree that there is a problem, as several multistorey buildings operating without fire licence are vulnerable (to fire accidents), especially those in T Nagar,” Lakhoni said, but insisted the Corporation had to consider various factors and handle the issue sensitively before any move to shut them down.
According to fire licence rules, a commercial establishment should meet several requirements — the building must have fire extinguishers, terrace-level overhead tanks, staircases (lifts must not be used during a fire) and prominent display of “Exit” signage, among other criteria, for obtaining the licence, which has to be renewed every year. But some decade-old commercial establishments continue to operate without a fire license, as they were built in violation of building rules and any modification to comply with fire rules would mean demolishing them.
Some popular shops in T Nagar are among those most vulnerable to fire, and the Fire and Rescue department has been sending notices to such establishments that do not possess a fire licence, DGP and department director R Nataraj said.
But nothing much has changed in the absence of any power to seal the shops or take any stringent action.
