Last week, a fire broke out in the SVM College building here due to an electric short circuit occurring at the main switch.  

The fire was averted due to timely intervention of the local fire brigade, Energy Department and college authority. One fire extinguisher placed at the main switch somehow controlled the fire from spreading further. In between, the fire personnel intervened and brought the situation under control. However, the incident has raised a question mark on the fire safety mechanism of various establishments in the district. In order to reduce and check fire-related accidents, there should be strict adherence to the fire safety measures and rules. In the wake of the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy that occurred in New Delhi in 1997, State DG Fire Services Santosh Kumar Upadhya had directed a fire safety audit of all vital establishments, including hospitals, Government offices, commercial places, educational institutions and market places across the State. Ironically, the instructions of the DG Fire have not been complied with in several institutions in Jagatsinghpur district. The instructions mainly focus on safety audits and inspections of the District Headquarters Hospitals, Government offices, educational institutions such as colleges, schools, coaching centers, high rise buildings on a priority basis by May 21, but on verification it was known that the district fire office has not completed the audits as yet. Much less, it doesn’t have complete information regarding the number of establishments covered under the safety audits so far. “We have cautioned each of our stakeholders to carry out fire safety measures urgently,” informed District Fire Officer Tej Kumar Ekka. This correspondent visited many schools and college run by the Government and private management institutes, coaching centers, hotels, high rise buildings and Government offices, but couldn’t find adequate fire safety measures, except in a few banks, petrol pump stations and Central Government offices where partial compliances were noticed. Worse still is that the Collectorate building doesn’t have adequate fire safety arrangements; no fire extinguisher is found in the ground and top floor office rooms and the main gate. Only fire extinguishers were noticed at the record room. While the Government has made fire safety measures mandatory in offices, district Nizrat officer Rajesh Kumar Sahoo admitted a shortfall of fire safety arrangements in the collectorate but informed that 17 fire extinguishers have been installed at the record room on the second floor inside the office. Meanwhile, the fire brigade had conducted a fire safety audit recently, the Nizarat officer informed. The NOC from the Fire Department is issued after they conduct fire safety audit examining ventilation in building, availability of fire hydrants, accessibility of fire hoses, fire extinguisher installation, and water functioning system but none of the provisions has been followed in true letter and spirit in many establishments in the district, sources said.