Improvement In Fire Safety Management Urged

There is a need for concerted effort on the part of the fire services department, the insurance industry and the Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) in particular, to bring about more awareness on fire safety measures.

This was stated by V V Rao, chief fire officer, Bombay Fire Brigade, at a workshop on design installation and maintanence of fire protection systems organised by the Mumbai Regional Office of TAC.

Rao called for a partnership role among concerned parties, including the contractaors, for ensuring fire safety management.

Delivering the key note address, Tariff Advisory Committee secretary C Ravi said that if proper systems are implemented to improve fire safety, the policy holders will get discounts of up to 75 per cent when they take a fire insurance policy.

Rao suggested that the scope of the contractors should be enhanced.

He called for instituting a system of licenced fire protection engineers whose obligatory role would be to enhance fire protections systems and would take on responsibility for repairs and maintanence. Calling for more coordination among the different parties from the design stage itself, he suggested that a public education scheme should be launched.

He was of the opinion that if the General Insurance Corporation provided the requisite funds then the fire departmnet would provide the necessary personnel.

U Mahesh Rao, managing director, General Insurance Corporation, in his address, said that the necessary funds will be provided for this effort. He said that the workshop was being organised agaist the backdrop of a spate of fire accidents all over the country.

He hoped that during the workshop, which is intended to familiarise contractors who install the fire protection systems with the design aspects of the Tariff Advisory Committees rules for various types of fire protection systems, latest developments in fire protection systems, will lead to exchange of views among the contractors and the Tariff Advisory Committee personnel.