International Copper Association India (ICA India) in association with Power Cable Alliance (PCA) and Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) organized an event to drive attention on need for electrical fire safety in public buildings. The inaugural session of the event included Mr. Sanjeev Ranjan, MD, ICAI, and Guests of Honour – Mr. Debasish Banerjee, MD, CESC, and Mr. Jag Mohan- DG of Fire Services. The agenda of the event was to put forth best practices on electrical safety, selection of Fire Survival Cable at key public buildings such as hospitals, airports and metro stations. Aside from that the event focused on discussions on standards and practices of electrical fire safety, fire safety installations. The event was attended by 100 delegates, from across the building and infrastructure eco-system.
Recently, there have been many fire accidents at malls, restaurants, marriage halls, exhibitions, shopping complexes and other public places. Fire safety in public places is the last thing we would have in mind when we visit these places mostly for entertainment. According to a report by Central Electricity Authority India, defective electrical systems are a cause for increasing number of fire accidents. With the increasing demand for electrical power across the country, the need to improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of the current electrical infrastructure is even more necessary. In our effort to realize the collective vision of Electrical Fire Safe India, ICA India, PCA and FSAI have joined hands and come together to discuss reliability and efficiency of electrical infrastructure in India. This seminar is third in the series, previous two were organized in Delhi and Chennai.
Speaking at the event Mr. Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, ICA India said, “In India there are on an average 13 fatalities per day due to electrical accidents. This not only, is a loss to the economy, where crores of rupees are spent on compensation and maintenance but also endangers life. We at ICA India strive to empower people with knowledge to overcome electrical hazards through our campaigns and initiatives. As the old adage says ‘prevention is better than cure’, applies aptly to electrical hazards and fire accidents as well. Using the right circuit integrity cables or fire survivable cables for public buildings can prevent loss of life and property. We hope that by sharing the knowledge and driving these facts we would be able to arrest these unfortunate incidents.”
The experts from the regulatory bodies pointed out how despite having sufficient regulations and standards in place we are still struggling with better electrical safety applications due to lack of awareness amongst the masses. Mr. Debashish Banerjee, Managing Director, CESC said “There have been several fire incidents over the last six months that were caused by improper wiring standards. Awareness on electrical fire safety is extremely essential and events such as these help immensely towards that aim.
Kolkata, a city of festivals, is prone to electrical hazards and it is important that more people are aware of the precautions and measures to be implemented for better safety in public buildings. When proper measures towards electrical safety aren’t taken, several public buildings are susceptible to fire incidents. We are confident that with greater awareness among the key stakeholders, we will be safe from electrical fire accidents.”
All the speakers shared their expertise around electrical fire safety in Public Buildings with respect to the standards, policies, laws and the ways in which these issues can be addressed. The discussions were focused around importance of right quality of jointing & termination, rules, regulations & standards on electrical fire safety in public buildings, best practices on selection of fire survival cable for public buildings, followed by a panel discussion on the way forward on electrical safety.
The most awaited festival of Kolkata, Durga Puja is around the corner, and the preparations are in full swing. This calls for a need for electrical fire safety to avoid hazardous outcomes and accidents. With increased use of electrical connections around the pandal — which in most cases are makeshift and in some cases illegal — the risk of short circuits and grievous loss of life and damage to property are heightened. Also, in the light of the recent fire accidents that have taken place across India and in parts of Kolkata, it is very important to follow basic electrical fire safety requirements.
