Rash of fire accidents in city crime notes

Staff Reporter
Bangalore: Materials worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted in five fires across the city on Thursday.
At least Rs. 15 lakhs worth bamboo materials were engulfed in a major blaze in Bamboo Bazaar near Kalasipalya, in the early hours of Thursday.
Fire and Emergency Services staff attributed it to an electrical short circuit. Furniture and bamboo materials stored in six shops were gutted. Also burnt were a tea stall, a workshop and a scrap goods shop. Thirteen fire tenders doused the fire. Other fires were Rs. 80,000 worth clothes destroyed in Dasarahalli near Peenya around 2.15 a.m., a minor blaze at S.K. Hotel near National College in Basavangudi in the morning, chemicals worth several thousands were burnt on Nagarabavi Road at Chalukya Nagar near Moodala Palya, three cars were damaged in a fire at a garage in Basaveshwara Nagar.

Rally, mock drill mark National Disaster Reduction Day

Checking preparedness: Home Guards and Fire and Emergency Services personnel conducting a mock rescue drill on the occasion of the National Disaster Reduction Day in Dharwad on Sunday.

DHARWAD: The National Disaster Reduction Day was observed on Sunday by organising an awareness rally and a mock drill on handling fire accident on the RLS High School ground here. The Dharwad district Home Guards and the Fire and Emergency Services Department had jointly organised the programme. The rally on creating awareness on precautionary measures to be initiated during a natural calamity or a fire accident began from the office of the Deputy Commissioner and concluded at the RLS High School. The participants, including women Home Guards, held placards and banners with messages highlighting steps to be taken during natural calamities and man-made disasters. Pamphlets explaining steps to be taken during disasters/accidents were distributed to the public. After the rally Home Guards and Fire and Emergency Services personnel conducted a mock drill on how to handle a fire accident. The personnel “saved” many persons who were stuck in a structure that had caught fire and also put off the fire, as part of the drill.

14 floors of building under construction collapse

BANGALORE: Tower ‘C' of Prestige Shantiniketan, a township project on a 105-acre campus in Whitefield, came down crashing on Thursday evening. All the 14 floors of a portion of the tower collapsed. Four workers were injured.
Around 4.20 pm, one corner of the roof started to give in. Six floors of the block crashed suubsequently; the entire portion collapsed within the next half hour. About 60 workers working on the rooftop, removing the centring structure, ran to safety when the crash occurred. Fire force joint director B G Chengappa, who visited the spot, said the exact reason for the crash had to be ascertained by structural engineers. Prestige Group chairman Irfan Razack said there were no casualties, nor was any worker injured. IJM, a Malaysian infrastructure company, were the contractors for the project. Asked about the cause of the crash, he said: "We believe a concrete slab that was being laid fell, and that then had a cascading effect. While I don't think there's any structural problem, we will evaluate all possibilities that could have led to this." The fire force could not launch a full-fledged rescue operation for two and a half hours because of the gradual collapse. Even after all the 14 floors had crashed, raising a cloud of cement, rescue could not begin because of reduced visibility. Light evening showers further delayed the process. Later, the fire force abandoned the operation following assurances from the promoters that there were no workers in the building at the time of the crash. A project officer from the Prestige Group informed the police that one person was missing. Four workers who were at the bottom of the tower sustained injuries. They were taken to Vaidehi Hospital.

Bus catches fire

BANGALORE: A private bus caught fire in a parking area at Kalasipalyam on Friday night, leading to a traffic jam and delaying departure of other buses. No one was hurt. The bus, belonging to SRMS Transport Company which runs services on Anekal, Attibele and Mavalli routes, caught fire around 8.30 p.m. due to a short circuit in the vehicle’s battery unit. Luckily, there were no passengers in the vehicle.Fire and Emergency Service personnel rushed two fire tenders to the spot and it took nearly an hour to douse the blaze. Other buses were cleared from the area and traffic was diverted, leading to a gridlock and delaying the departure of buses.

3 killed as 4 houses collapse in Hubli

Three persons, including two women were killed, when four houses located in a complex of total 12 houses, collapsed in the Ganeshpet area in Hubli on Wednesday morning.

DH News Service, Hubli:
According to police, the deceased belonged to two houses and they have been identified as Rizan Mumtaz Morab (32) who belonged to one family, Babajaan Hussainsaab Hukkewale (55), and Salia Kausar (25) hailing from Bangalore. Salia had recently completed her BE, and had come to her relatives house. She was returning back to Bangalore on Wednesday night.
Gone damp
As rains had lashed Hubli city continuously for few days, this old housing complex, built of mud and bricks many decades ago, had gone damp. Consequently on Wednesday morning, four walls of this complex collapsed, wherein eight people were buried in the rubble.However, as people and fire fighting personnel came to the rescue, five people were rescued from the rubble. But, the three were not so lucky, as they died before they were rescued. The injured have been admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) here.The complex, located near the fish market at Kulkarni Hakkalu in Ganeshpet, houses 12 families. These families stated that even though they had warned the complex owner Shambulinga Mahadevappa Jagali that the complex was old and was on the verge of collapse, still no measures had been taken to demolish the complex.

1 killed, over 60 houses collapsed

Torrential rains wash away festive spirit.

DH News Service, Chikkaballapur:
More than 60 houses have collapsed and a person lost life due to the torrential rains that lashed the district in the last two days.
A person has died of house collapse in Mallur of Shidlaghatta taluk. The name of the deceased is given as Munianjinappa (45). More than ten houses in the low-lying areas of Bhagatsingh Nagar, Nakkalakunte and Prashanth Nagar in the town have collapsed. Rain water gushed into houses in new bus stand area and those located behind govt first grade college. Articles of daily necessity have been washed away in the flooding waters. Police constables and fire fighting personnel strived hard the entire night in draining out water, collected to a level of five feet, from the area behind cocoon market in the city. Municipal workers and personnel from fire fighting department were seen engaged in clearing water clogging in the area, mostly populated by labouring class. The fury of incessant rains have washed away festive spirit in the taluk.

Two students drown

Udupi: Two students who went to bathe in the Nayarkere pond drowned here on Wednesday. According to the Udupi Town Police, a group of five students went to the pond. Two students of MGM College — Mohammad Ibadulla (19) and Shahnawaz (20) — decided to bathe in the pond. Slipped and fell While going down to the pond, they slipped and fell into it and drowned. Mohammad Ibadulla was a resident of Nayarkere area, while Shahnawaz stayed at Sampige Nagar in Udyavar. A case has been registered, the police said. Though the Fire and Emergency Services personnel reached the spot, they could not save the students. The residents of Nayarkere said that if the personnel had better equipment, they could have saved the students. The personnel, however, maintained that they had done their best.

Retaining wall collapses, two buried alive

Two construction workers died when a retaining wall beside a construction site at Monkey Stand in the City collapsed in the wee hours of Wednesday. The victims have been identified as Sharief and Ashraf, hailing from West Bengal.

In fact, the death news came to light only in the morning though the incident had taken place at around 1.30 am. Fire brigade and police had arrived in the site as soon as they were informed, but returned when the security personnel in the site told them that nobody were there beside the wall.

“However, the collapsed bricks were removed from the drainage beside the construction site in the morning as the water flow had been blocked. And everybody was shocked to see two dead bodies below the remains,” Corporator of Mangaladevi ward Premanand Shetty told Deccan Herald.Storm water had entered some houses around the construction site because of the flood and it was inevitable to clear the drainage, said one of the neighbours. The construction site belongs to one Suresh Shetty. Pandeshwar police have registered a case.

12 Fire Station for 80 lakh people

Article on Mysore Fire Brigade in Star of Mysore

FIRE BRIGADE

From Star of Mysore-Online

The Saraswathipuram Fire Station in Mysore is the oldest Fire Station in the State. During the British rule, this Fire Station was under the control of the old Madras region. It is housed in a heritage building built in the year 1942 at Saraswathipuram.

At present, there are three Fire Stations within Mysore city limits at Saraswathipuram, on Bangalore-Mysore Highway in Bannimantap and in the RBI premises. The Station at Saraswathipuram is the main Regional Office covering the districts of not only Mysore but also Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Hassan.

The Fire Station at Saraswathipuram is equipped with two water spraying engines, one tanker to carry water, one to spray mist based on German technology mounted inside a Jeep. There is even an Enfield motorcycle fitted with German fire fighting technology with Carbon dioixide to douse small fires at short notices. Similarly, the Bannimantap Fire Station also consists of a water tender, a multipurpose tender and a water tanker. The RBI Fire Station consists two water tenders. The water tender has the capacity to pump four to five thousands liters of water and the water tanker has the capacity to store 10 thousands of liters of water.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Regional Fire Officer H.S. Varada Rajan said that they are in the process of acquiring an Advanced Rescue Van which is equipped with essential equipments like steel cutting machine, tree cutting machine and concrete cutter, required during emergencies. He announced that fire fighting personnel do not involve only in dousing fires, but also in saving lives of people who are in danger. Fire fighting personnel are always ready to rescue lives of people in any situation who are in danger, like in collapse of buildings, accidental drowning and other life threatening situations.

Presently, there are 37 firemen working at the Saraswathipuram Fire Station, though the actual requirement is 51, while at the Bannimantap Station, 22 men are working though the actual requirement is 37 persons and in the RBI station 20 firemen are working where the actual need is 27. The remaining vacancies are in the process of being filled up, as the new recruits are currently undergoing training, said Varada Rajan.

Residential quarters have also been provided to these firemen which are in the premises itself. A fireman cannot leave the headquarters without obtaining permission of his higher officer. He should always be prepared not just during his working hours, but also all the day and night when he is present there.

Awareness Programmes:

Fire fighting personnel not only save the lives in critical moments, but also create awareness among the people by holding public demonstrations and giving lectures in schools, colleges, Government offices, Departments, summer camps, NSS camps, NCC camps and to Police trainees.

How to act in fire accidents:

Find, Inform, Restrict, and Extinguish (FIRE) are the keywords to be remembered in a fire accident. Soon after receiving an emergency call, the person in the control room informs the nearest fire station. When the fire station is informed, the fire engine driver immediately takes the fire engine outside and another person will start ringing the alarm bells to alert other fire men to join the fire engine. They always carry the topography of the city and town plan ready on hand to visit the spot. Fire fighting personnel will board the fire engine, after wearing their safety guards like helmets, arm guards, long shoes etc.

While sharing his experience that occurred recently, Varada Rajan said that in KR Nagar four men got down into a manhole and became unconscious. At that time, he luckily happened to be in KR Nagar, when somebody called him and informed about the mishap. He immediately ordered the locals to bring oxygen cylinders from hospitals and release the oxygen into the manhole. They were successful in taking three of them outside, but unfortunately, one man succumbed.

STUDENTS ASSOCIATION OF FIRE EDUCATION (SAFE)
This is a unique program of training the children, it is run only in Karnataka.
Karnataka State Fire Services Department started this program with the main aim of developing fire preventive habits among students by imparting training to the boys and girls (middle and high school students).

The modus operandi of SAFE is to identify and adopt a few schools and enrol students as the members of SAFE. The Department arranges free training for the members of SAFE, in their school premises. A day in a week, fortnight or month will be identified to introduce the theory part of the subject 'fire'. With the help of the school teaching staff, free slots will be identified for practical training in identification of portable extinguishers, judicious use of portable extinguishers, methods of summoning fire services, do's and don'ts in an emergency, fire drills, rescue methodology and evacuation drill. This training may last for one year. After this training certificates are issued to the members. There are 16 different schools which are actively participating in this program. A program to train the trainers i.e., school teachers in basic fire prevention, fire fighting and evacuation who in turn train the members of SAFE, is also designed.

Bylaws for SAFE
Members willing to join the association should be bonafide students of a school in the city.
They should remain in the Students' Association of Fire Education for one year. They will be issued a certificate by the Dept. by the end of the year. They should attend the training program once a month regularly in the afternoon after classes in their schools. The training will be conducted by the Karnataka State Fire Services Department's instructors, at the school premises. The head of the educational institution will select a teacher and nominate him/her as 'Fire Warden' of the SAFE, who will take care of the attendance and other matters of the Association. Members of SAFE are not eligible for a certificate if the attendance is less than 75%.
The members of the SAFE will carry a cloth arm band (SAFE) on the right arm. Members should attend functions organised by the Department in respect of fire safety. Members of SAFE may need to participate in the march past during Republic Day and Independence Day parades, and also during Fire Service Week celebrations. (14th April to 20th April). Competition of various types for the members, including inter / intra school of SAFE will be held from time to time, to introduce competitive spirit. Each school shall have a Captain nominated from among the members by the Department called 'SAFE-Captain'. A SAFE-Captain may need to attend meetings convened by Director/Commandant of the Training College/Chief Fire Officer at any convenient location. During the training period, the Department will arrange a visit of the members of SAFE to any one fire station in Bangalore city.

For Fire Emergency Dial - 101
In case of emergency contact fire stations:
Saraswathipuram - 2540970, Bannimantap - 2495101, RBI - 2582103, Mysore Regional Fire Officer (RFO) - 2540116, website: www.karnatakafireservices.gov.in

Mumbai: Fire in Mall

Times of India
Fire in Vashi mall fuels big safety worries
22 May 2008, 0449 hrs IST,
Vijay Singh & Devraj

Dasgupta,TNN
NAVI MUMBAI: Memories of Delhi's ghastly Uphaar fire tragedy, which claimed 59 lives back in 1997, were uppermost on the firemen's minds when they arrived at the City Centre mall on Palm Beach road here at 9 am and saw smoke billowing out of the four-storeyed structure. The inferno was in the food court adjacent to the Cinemax multiplex on the fourth floor. The first show was to begin at 10 am and the mall too was yet to open. Although an entire wing of seven food stalls was gutted, no one was injured. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the multiplex. Firemen refused to go on record as to the likely cause of the blaze. However, unofficially, they indicated that electrical problems had sparked it off. The incident has brought to light serious shortcomings and irregularities regarding fire safety in the four-storey mall. Navi Mumbai fire chief R T Mhatre told TOI: "The mall's sprinkler systems, where the food court is located, were not on ‘auto mode', which is why the fire flared up and destroyed seven outlets in the food court. If the system could have detected either the smoke or the fire, the water sprinklers would have automatically been triggered and extinguished the fire at the very outset." The fire brigade got the first call from City Centre at 8.50 am on Wednesday; 12 fire engines were rushed over the next one hour. One wing of the food court, made largely of plastic, was gutted and furniture, flooring and mini-pantries reduced to cinders. The food outlets were still smouldering at noon, long after the fire had been doused. The shops were charred beyond recognition. Worse, shops on floors below the food court had their electrical connections badly damaged. "Apart from the faulty sprinklers, we had earlier also noticed that the four fire/emergency exits of each level of the mall were not totally clear of obstacles. On the first floor for example, the Croma shop has come up right at the spot where the fire/emergency exit should be," said Mhatre. He added that because of these discrepancies, the mall has still not been given the final NOC from the fire department. "At present we have only given a provisional and conditional NOC to City Centre; the final NOC will only be given after the mall meets all the fire safety requirements. It is indeed fortunate that there were no customers in the mall at the time of fire," Mhatre said. The mall houses 113 shops and has been operational for the last six months on a conditional NOC from the Navi Mumbai fire brigade. City Centre general manager Shahul H Kader disagreed with Mhatre. "Our sprinkler systems are fully functional, there is no doubt about it. All the four fire exits on each level are also open." Asked why the Croma showroom had come up where one of the fire/emergency exits should be, Kader said: "Yes, one of the exits does pass through the Croma shop; but we will alter it soon as per the fire department's guidelines in order to procure the final NOC."

Mlore:Fire Department To Go Hi-Tech

Well-equipped fire dept to go hi-tech
Gururaj A Paniyadi TNN
Mangalore: The fire department, which is set for upgradation, is expecting an Advance Rescue Van (ARV) shortly. Six ARVs will be procured by the state fire and emergency services department. One of them will serve in Mangalore region. With several major industries coming up in the region, and a number of buildings mushrooming all over, the fire department has concentrated on improving its services. Speaking to ‘The Times of India’, fire and emergency services department deputy inspector general B Dayananda said ARV, a multi-purpose vehicle having various features, is expected to be here in a month’s time. According to chief fire officer D Rasheed, ARV comprises 148 different kinds of equipment needed to douze fire and handle other disasters. It will have instruments like hydraulic cutters, hydraulic spreaders, combo tools, in addition to fire tending machines. This apart, it will have advanced tools like thermal imaging camera and floodlights. It is generally difficult for firemen to spot people caught in fire and thick smoke. The thermal imaging camera will help firemen locate the people by focussing on them. Another common problem encountered during fire or other accident is the lack of light. ARV’s floodlight can be rotated 360 degrees. Another floodlight, a portable one connected to power source in the van, can be taken into the buildings. Hi-tech fire station Fire stations will also get a facelift. Within 15 days, the work on the new fire station will commence at Kuntikana. The work has been handed over to the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation. At present, the department has a temporary structure with three vehicles. The department plans to have a four-bay station with a capacity of eight vehicles. The station will be converted into a hi-tech station with two floors. The first floor will comprise pantry, gym, reading/ recreation room and a class room where the staff will be trained to impart awareness among the public. After the work on Kuntikana station is completed, the department will renovate Pandeshwar fire station. The Pandeshwar station, built during pre-Independence period, will have a new look at its new premises on the grounds. According to Rasheed, the old building will be razed to make way for grounds. The station will be built on the lines of the Kuntikana station. The department has already constructed a new station at Belthangady near Guruvainkere. The station at Karkala is also ready. The department is planning to upgrade the station at Puttur. There are proposals to have stations, one at Sullia and another on BC Road. Training programme Mangalore is likely to host a training programme for fire personnel for the first time in a few month’s time. The temporary training centre of the fire department is likely to be started at the headquarters of the department at Mangalore. Around 120 personnel will undergo training.