Public Buildings and Fire Safety

Public Buildings and Fire Safety

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Disaster management 

In news

• Over the past year, there have been deadly fires in hospital buildings, including those treating COVID-19 patients.

Key takeaways 

• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says 330 people died in commercial building fires in 2019. 
• Fatalities for residential or dwelling buildings: 6,329.
• Electrical faults are cited as the leading cause of fires 
• State governments are widely criticised for being lax with building safety laws and for failing to equip public buildings with modern technology.
• Hospital ICUs (intensive care units) are a great fire risk because they are oxygen-suffused, and need to meet high standards.
• Part 4 of the National Building Code of India deals with Fire and Life Safety. 
• The document provides specifications and guidelines for design and materials that reduce the threat of destructive fires.
• Hospitals come under the institutional category in the code.