450 buildings in Navi Mumbai served notices for poor firefighting system

NAVI MUMBAI: The civic body’s fire department has served notices to the secretaries and office bearers of the associations of 450 residential buildings, directing them to upgrade their firefighting equipment. The department conducted a city-wide survey and discovered that these buildings possess inadequate firefighting systems that render them non-operational during an emergency.
Chief fire officer Vijay Rane said, “It is mandatory for both residential and commercial buildings to obtain fire safety certificates from approved agencies, stating that the fire-fighting apparatus installed in the buildings are in working condition.As per the state government’s regulations, the certificate was to be submitted by January 2014.”
However, added Rane, during verification, it was found that many residential buildings are yet to renew their certificates, which is done after every six months. Hence, a survey was undertaken, in which 450 buildings were found to be equipped with outdated firefighting apparatus. Many of these buildings had fire extinguishers that have crossed their expiry dates and needed to be upgraded.
“The citizens have to ensure that firefighting equipment in their buildings are well maintained,” said Rane.