In the wake of recent fire incidents at hospitals in the country, India is grappling with the lack of most basic requirement in any institutional building- fire safety. The unfortunate fire breakout at the Odisha hospital reflected the archaic state of affairs. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), only three of Odisha's 568 hospitals have fire safety clearance, thus exposing the inadequacy of the healthcare centres to supply the most rudimentary firefighting mechanism.
Despite this grim scenario, hospitals are yet to identify the pain points in the fire safety mechanism. It is important to mitigate the danger before it strikes, hence preventive measures as well as aproficient fire detection system should be in place. Hospitals are classified as institutional buildings under the National Building Code 2005. The National Building Code 2005 clearly enlists requirements of institutional buildings, which includes keeping the area around a hospital always clear for easy access of fire tenders. This is often not followed in India. Thus, there is a dire need for a complete overhauling of the system from ground zero. The Indian economic landscape is at the cusp of a revolutionary transformation with the introduction of national programmes such as Make in India and Smart City Mission. A seamless fire safety system is going to be one of the focal areas during the planning stage of the rapid infrastructural development. Advanced fire detection technology of international standards will become a crucial part.
The fire safety market has evolved significantly over the past couple of years. Innovative fire safety products with new technology are being introduced in the Indian markets. According to India Fire & Safety Equipment Market Forecast & Opportunities, this sector in India is expected to grow by USD4.94 billion till 2019. Indian Hospitals are an integral part of this growth plan. However, the current situation speaks a different language.
The dismal state of Indian hospitals reiterates the importance of preventive fire safety measures that should be installed into the structure from the construction stage itself. This should be backed by a thorough maintenance procedure for long term sustenance. In the last five years, apart from the recent tragedy at the Odisha hospital, a major fire disaster struck the AMRI hospital in Kolkata. According to a study done by Mahesh Bendigeri of Global Business School on the fire tragedy in Kolkata's AMRI hospital in 2011, faulty construction of building with lack of proper ventilation turned the fire incident into a tragedy.
Unfortunate incidents like these could have been easily circumvented by application of smart solutions such as BIM (Building Information Modelling). BIM has become a global phenomenon in the fire detection industry wherein virtual designs are built in three dimensions before work proceeds on the construction site. The attributes of all the elements of the building can be found in the model and spatial 'clashes' can be identified and resolved in the model instead of on site. From construction to demolition, the life cycle of a building can be monitored through BIM to keep the healthcare environment working to the highest standards of care and safety at all times.
While hospitals are gradually aligning themselves with the need for such evolved fire detection methods, it's time to encourage the use of BIM across every sector of the built environment.
Fire hazards are always overlooked until the calamity hits the roof and the situation is beyond human control. Such occurrences can be easily evaded if one takes definitive preventive action from the designing- stage followed by an active participation in maintenance of the property by the hospital. Fire safety awareness as well as preparedness is important at all times and should be followed diligently through inspections and enforcement.
Mr. Rohit Harjani is the Country Manager – Indian Sub-continent region for Hochiki and is responsible for company's business operations in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Having gained expertise in the domain of Fire Detection Systems, Rohit has more than 16 years of global industry experience. Prior to the present role, he was heading Hochiki's Europe office in the UK for five years and was responsible for driving business growth in Iberia (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and Mediterranean regions. He has also worked with Hitachi High Technologies India as Representative for India region during the initial phase in his career.
Rohit, leveraging his multi-market experience, will be enhancing Hochiki's brand salience in the Indian sub-continent, offering most reliable and easy to use fire detection systems matching global standards.
During his stint with Hochiki, Rohit had been engaged in developing innovative business models, and implementing robust project management strategies to generate awareness around fire detection and safety among customers.
Rohit is a graduate in Commerce and Finance from MDS University.
