Height of callousness: only 13 buildings submitted fire compliance reports in 7 yrs

The several incidents of fire have not fazed the citizens as they are least bothered about the mandatory fire safety measures in their buildings. The several incidents of fire have not fazed

the citizens as they are least bothered about the mandatory fire safety measures in their buildings. Only 13 buildings -- 11 in western suburbs and two in eastern suburbs -- in the entire

city have compiled with fire safety measures since 2006. As per the data available with DNA, the Mumbai fire brigade said only 13 buildings have submitted the compliance report on fire

safety measures between January 2006 and January 2013. The seven-storey apartment in Mulund, where a fire broke out on Thursday killing three people, too did not have any fire-fighting

system in place. The fire broke out in a meter box on the ground floor of the 30-year-old building and spread to the upper floors. According to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life

Safety Measures Act, every building -- residential and commercial -- should conduct a fire safety audit on its own every six months. They should then submit a compliance report in January

and July to the fire brigade, which will verify it. Activists and experts said the citizens must pay heed to the rule, considering the rise in fire incidents in the past few years. “Instead

of blaming the fire brigade, citizens must be proactive and take necessary precautions as mandated under the fire safety regulations. If such measures are taken, many tragedies can be

avoided,” said Godfrey Pimenta, an activist from Andheri (E). The fire officials blamed the lack of seriousness among the citizens as they lax in submitting compliance reports. “It shows

that the citizens don’t learn the lessons as our repeated request for compliance reports seems to have gone unheeded. It is sad that the citizens living in high-rises, who are well-educated

and law-abiding, are still not following the fire safety measures,” said a senior fire official.