Bhubaneswar: Fire Services department Tuesday served notices on 10 big shopping malls in the city that were found flouting various fire safety and prevention norms in the recent raids January 6.
City fire officer, Brajendu Bhusan Das, gave the erring mall owners two months’ ultimatum Tuesday to fully comply with a slew of directives attached with the notice.
The big shopping malls have “violated the conditions of the Orissa Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017, endangering the lives and properties of inmates as well as public in and around your premises,” fire officer Das told the owners in the notice.
The fire directorate listed 28 measures in the annexure of the notice. The malls were asked to update the “Public address system” so that the alarm should be clearly audible during the fire hazards.
The malls were asked to widen the entry points to 5 metres. The fire office also told the owners to arrange automatic smoke detectors above the ceilings where the empty space is more than 800mm. Other important measures advised by the department include periodical emergency drills to train security personnel, shifting of LPG cylinders from the basement area, providing a refuse area where the building height is above 24 metres.
The notices followed the recent surprise inspections conducted at 10 big shopping malls in the city. The department has noticed many irregularities and lack of adequate fire safety measures in the malls. The staff and security personnel were also found lacking the required skills in handling firefighting equipment.
The Fire Directorate has warned the mall owners of legal action if they fail to comply with its order.
PNN
