About 131 societies in Noida lack proper fire safety equipment, ET RealEstate
NOIDA: The fire department has identified 131 highrises in GB Nagar that lack proper fire-fighting equipment. Of these, 55 societies are located in Noida, 74 are in Greater Noida and 2 in Yamuna Expressway Authority areas.
Among the condominiums operating without a fire NOC are Lotus 300 in Sector 107, Supertech Supernova Spira in Sector 94, Cloud 9 in Sector 100, Gaur City 2 in Sector 16C and Hawelia Valencia Homes in Sector 1, Greater Noida West and more.
Chief fire officer (CFO) Pradeep Kumar Chaubey released the list on Monday at a meeting with a residents’ body about the rise in fire incidents in highrises. Regular fire safety audits along with other safety measures such as adequate fire equipment with location maps of nearby fire stations, a disaster management team along with awareness through posters and banners were some of the topics discussed at the meeting.
The fire department has surveyed around 330 high rises in the district in the last couple of months, of which 131 were found to not have a fire NOC (no objection certificate). “55 of such highrises are in Noida, 74 in Greater Noida and 2 in the Yamuna Authority areas,” the CFO said.
Since May 30, the city has seen around half a dozen fire incidents. During this period, fires broke out at several highrises including Lotus Boulevard in Sector 100, Eldeco Aamantran in Sector 119 and Supertech Capetown society in Sector 74.
In light of growing concerns about the lack of fire safety measures as well as a lack of awareness among residents, a delegation of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA), met CFO Chaubey on Monday seeking a solution on the matter.
“We demanded regular fire safety audits in high rises along with fire mock drills in societies to help generate awareness. We also called for preparedness by way of hydraulic lifts for rescue operations, fire safety equipment specific for highrises etc,” said Rajiva Singh president of NOFAA.
The CFO noted that while regular fire safety audits are being conducted, a majority of highrises in the city have still not achieved necessary compliances. He urged NOFAA to facilitate the process for the same.
On requisite fire safety equipment, CFO Chaubey said that the department already has 4 hydraulic lifts to access higher floors and new hydraulic lifts have been ordered. He also agreed to provide the location maps of fire stations around residential sectors along with the mobile number of the officer in each sector/zone.
“This will facilitate people to understand the operations in a state of any contingency and the turnaround time (TAT) for fire tenders to reach fire accident sites from various corners of our district,” Chaubey said.
The CFO also said that he would share the best SOPs for highrises for firefighting, creating disaster management teams in various sectors along with do’s and don’ts documents for residents in societies, innovative fire safety norms and awareness through posters and banners (hard and soft copies).
When asked about the possibility of emergency chopper rescue operations in case of a high-rise fire too high to access via hydraulic lift, the CFO told the residents’ body that this facility was not available so far. However, he said that such arrangements could be looked into in the future.
He also apprised residents that govt plans to hire consultants for fire safety and compliance at societies to simplify the process of getting a fire NOC. “The entire system is online now and the NOC is given for 5 years. One needs to make sure that the society is in complete compliance as per the guidelines laid out,” he said.
