25 February 2008

Fire Atop Chamundi Hills




Major Fire in Garment Godown in Bengaluru


Garment godown goes up in flames
Clothes Worth Lakhs Destroyed
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
25th Feb 2008
Bangalore: A major fire broke out at a godown of Arvind Mills on Hosur Road, destroying readymade garments worth lakhs of rupees. Firemen battled seven hours to douse the blaze. There were no casualties. The fire broke out around 11 am at the package-and-delivery unit of the godown, near Kudlu gate. A security guard noticed the fire and informed the fire control room. Fire engines rushed in from Electronic City and Jayanagar. But by then, the fire had raced through the whole godown, helped in good measure by the easily combustible cloth and cardboard material used for packaging. “Initially, five vehicles were pressed into service. After the fire spread blazed into the godown, five more engines were called in. The intensity of the blaze was such that the sheet roof came crashing down. The iron angles got melted, and it was a tough job for the firemen,’’ a senior fire official said. The blaze was tamed only around 4.30 pm. The fire officials said ready-for-despatch branded clothing got destroyed in the fire. “Though the packed clothing materials were kept high on the racks, the leaping flames devoured whatever came in the way. Most racks inside the godown got burnt. The cause of the fire is not known yet,’’ the officer added. The Electronic City police have registered a case. Senior fire personnel said two fire tenders will be stationed at the godown as a precautionary measure. toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

21 February 2008

Guidelines to Deal with Terror Attacks

Deccan Herald » State » State Briefs
21st Feb 2008
Guidelines to deal with terror attacks:
The National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering, IIT (Kanpur) has published a guideline book on ‘Measures to Mitigate the Effects of Terrorist Attacks on Buildings’.Interested persons may obtain the book on payment of Rs 200 per copy (Overseas orders should add Rs 250 per copy to cover air-mail postage and handling). Orders may be sent via e-mail: with complete name, affiliation, organisation and postal address to: nicee@iitk.ac.in.Payment can be made by credit card at www.nicee.org/payment.php, mentioning ‘Publications’ as purpose. Payment can be made by draft in favour of National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering, payable at Kanpur. Outstation cheques will be accepted with an addition of Rs 45 as bank charges. Fax: 0512-2597794, for more details.

Fire Service Personnel Rescue One in Bengaluru

Deccan Herald 15 Feb 2007










ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಅಪಾರ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸುರಕ್ಷತೆ


20 February 2008

State of the Art Fire Fighting Vehicles for BIAL


The Question of Fire Safety

Deccan Herald » City » Detailed Story

10th Feb 2007
The question of fire safety
Jagadish Angadi
The fire at the Public Utility Building on M G Road last year had raised concerns about the fire safety of highrise buildings mushrooming all across Bangalore.
The following rules and fire safety norms are stipulated by the Karnataka State Fire & Emergency Services (KSF&ES) Department KSF&ES issues ‘No Objection Certificate’ to highrise buildings (of 24 metres and above in Bangalore City and of height 15 metres and above in other parts of the State). Fire prevention, Fire Fighting and Life Safety measures as stipulated in the National Building Code (NBC) 2005 are adhered to while issuing the NOC and clearance certificates.Every high rise building should have an easy access to the fire engines to reach the premises. Height clearance of minimum 5 metres have to be maintained over every point.
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Such buildings should have fire extinguishers, hose reel, dry or wet riser, down comer, yard hydrant, automatic sprinkler system, manually operated electric fire alarm systems, automatic detection and alarm system, underground and terrace tanks.The escape route lighting should be on separate circuits and should be independently connected so that it could be operated by one switch installation on the ground floor, easily accessible to the fire fighting staff.At least of 40 per cent of the occupants should be trained extensively in conducting proper evacuation, operation of the systems and equipment and other fire safety provisions in the building.For all buildings 15 metres in height or above and apartment buildings with a height of 30 metres and above, a fire control room has to be established on the entrance floor of the building with proper communication system to all the floors to receive and communicate the message from different floors.A qualified fire officer with experience of not less than 3 years should be appointed for hotels, business and mercantile buildings with height more than 30 metres. He has to maintain fire fighting equipment in good condition.For high rise buildings above 60 metres in height, provisions for helipad should be made.
HIGHLIGHTS
North Star, Brigade Gateway, Whitefield - 30 floorsJain Swadesh, Banashan-kari 6th stage - 30 floorsUtility building, M G Road - 25 floorsLakeside Habitat Aplha, Hebbal - 24 floors Lakeside Habitat Omega, Hebbal - 24 floorsSouth City Towers, Kanakapura Road B5 - 22 floors , B1 - 22 Floors, B3 - 20 floors, B2 - 20 floors, B4 - 20 floors, C3 - 21 floorsV V Towers, Ambedkar Veedhi - 21 floorsUB Towers, UB City - 20 floorsBarton Centre, MG Road - 15 floors

Highways to the sky

Deccan Herald » City » Detailed Story
Highways to the sky
Satish Shile
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had proposed a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for both commercial and residential constructions.
For years, Bangalore stood vertically challenged, with the Public Utility Building jutting out like a sore thumb. But the City’s explosive growth -- both in terms of population and buildings -- forced planners, builders and architects to look up skyward. That effectively triggered a literal upwardly push in building heights. Deccan Herald does a reality check on this relatively new trend, the proposed rules for highrise structures, the safety issues involved and the unique experience of this “highrise lifestyle.”
I am happy with safety measures in high rise apartments. All builders adhere to norms enshrined in National Building Code and obtain NOC. Violations rarely take place.Balakrishna Hegde, President, Karnataka Ownership Apartments Promoters Association.
There may be many building constructed violating the norms. We write letters to the concerned authority to initiate action. It is up to them to take action. We can’t investigate into violations.T Suneel Kumar, DIG, Karnataka Fire & Emergency Services
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Things are satisfactory in high rise buildings in Bangalore compared to other cities of the country. There are three categories. First category, obtains NOC, provides facilities and maintain as per norms. Second category obtains NOC, provides facilities and fails to maintain. Third category neither obtains NOC nor provides facilities and maintain the norms.B G Chengappa, joint-director Karnataka Fire & Emergency Services
Bangalore’s skyline is suddenly upwardly mobile. Dwarfing Public Utility Building, the City’s erstwhile king of tall buildings, many new apartment blocks are on the rise across town. Forget the independent houses -- the average Bangalorean’s dream of owning them died young years ago --, residents now want to be up right there on the 30th floor, staring down on the vast expanse of the metropolis. Putting an official stamp to this push upwards and address the non-availability of space, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had proposed a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for both commercial and residential constructions, in its revised master plan 2015 to tackle urban growth. This is bound to boost the vertical push of buildings in Bangalore’s Central Business Area (CBA) in the next 10 years.Highrise apartments and commercial blocks are mushrooming thick and fast. And that has triggered a “highrise culture.” Many highrise residential blocks have even attained the status of villages with all facilities available under one roof. As denizens of these highrise blocks declared, the biggest contribution of such highrise living is “a sense of oneness and belonging.”On the rise is a new sense of social responsibility. Dr Somash ekhar M, who owns a flat in Mantri Altius on Cubbon Road, prefers highrise apartments to independent houses. Those living on the top floors are lucky, he is convinced. “They could breathe fresh air and be protected from all types of pollution,” he explains. Higher F.A.R.Here’s another reason why the vertical growth of Bangalore will be widespread: BDA has decided to do away with allotment of sites for one or two-room houses. In its place ground plus three or ground plus 4-storeyed structures will come up. However there will not be elevator facility. For those who demand higher-category houses need to go for higher storey buildings with lifts. BDA’s skyward vision is a response to the City’s increasing demand for dwelling places. According to the revised master plan, the total residential area in Bangalore went up by 44 sq km between 1990 and 2003. Residential area increased by 2.89 per cent while population grew by 3.28 pc during the period.For the record, BDA proposes to construct housing units for employed but poor families in the form of two-room units with total area not exceeding 50 sq mtr. The authority has also planned to involve private agencies for construction. Private companies wou ld get benefits in the form of higher FAR. However they have to allot either 15 per cent of the total FAR or 35 per cent of dwelling uni ts to economically weaker sectio ns.Architects are convinced that vertical growth will benefit the city. Architect K Jayaram explains that at present, occupancy is more in ground and first floors. Population density is very less. People are thus forced to travel long distances to reach their destination. But once the number of high-rise buildings go up, population density increases and transportation problem can be tackled easily.Jayaram feels vertical growth will also help find green spaces. “If vertical growth is promoted the city will get ample space for parks. With that, the rate of pollution will also comes down and improve health,” he explains.

Welcome to KSFES Media Watch

Helo, welcome all.

This Blog is maintained by the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services(KSFES). The posts here are mainly about the KSFES and they are picked up from the various newspapers and other periodicals. Thus in a way, it acts as a media watch by the department. We would like to know what is written about our organiation in the media and we would also like to share it. We would like to do this as we believe that this will help us in improving our performance and delivey of service to the society.

Your views and comments are also welcome.