The 2010 February Carlton Towers fire accident had transformed the lives of the survivors forever. But relatives and friends of the victims of that tragedy regrouped to form the Beyond Carlton Initiative, a movement that has been in the forefront of fire-safety campaigns across the City. Over the last five years, the group has relentlessly campaigned for better fire safety, especially in high-rises.
Public Interest Litigations filed by the group have brought about unprecedented changes in the powers of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. It was clearly due to Beyond Carlton’s sustained efforts that the Department today has re-inspection powers, a critical factor in arresting fire safety violations. Beyond Carlton’s president and managing trustee, Uday Vijayan dwells deeper into what his organisation stands for.
On the need for citizen activism
At one level, the authorities have to deliver what they are meant to deliver. But as citizens living in apartments and independent houses, we need to do what we can do towards fire prevention. Since there is a rule now that every two years, a high-rise building should be inspected for fire department’s No Objection Certificate, citizens should be sensitive to the entire fire safety issue.
On fighting fire from within
It is virtually impossible to expect fire-fighting men and machines to reach the spot in time, everytime. Realistically, we need to fight a fire from within the building. That means ensuring that the fire-fighting equipment are in working condition 24/7, the water storage tanks and pumps are ready, and dry runs are conducted once every month. Citizens should realise that in the end, it is about their own lives.
On adhering to safety norms
High-rises are defined by a height limit of 15 meters. I have heard of people who have built 14.99 meters to escape the mandatory fire safety conditions. Who are we kidding by doing this? We tend to ignore even simple safety measures such as maintaining electrical cables and fittings, although short circuit is the cause for a majority of fire incidents.
On Beyond Carlton’s efforts
It has been a long journey for Beyond Carlton. Our effort has been obviously to prevent another Carlton Towers like tragedy. But our partnership is beyond the Fire and Emergency Department. We have had citizens, builders, corporates and other agencies as stake-holders.
Our first effort was to create more awareness. Unlike in the West where people are trained in fire safety from school, citizens who we approached didn’t even know which number to dial in case of fire. We ran a campaign around 101, before moving on to schools with Residents Welfare Associations.
On collaborations with agencies
When we first visited the Fire Department after the Carlton Towers incident, we found that they had no authority to reinspect buildilngs after an NOC is issued. This was the trigger for us to file in 2011 a PIL before the Karnataka High Court (which eventually led to a government notification mandating re-inspection every two years). We then went back to the court to ascertain the status of the fire audit.
We use PILs and provisions of the RTI Act to pressure the agencies to act on fire safety. But we also cooperate and collaborate with them on various campaigns.
Date : 29th September, 2015
Source : deccanherald