Thiruvananthapuram: The state capital witnessed two major fire mishaps in the recent past. However, when it comes to enforcing fire safety norms in buildings, the authorities, including the city corporation, department of fire and rescue services and the district administration are passing the buck claiming it's not their responsibility.
The corporation, which grants building permits, claims enforcement doesn't come under its purview while the authorities of fire and rescue services say it's not their responsibility too. Interestingly, both the departments claim it's the district administration that should be enforcing the rules.
The Kerala Fire and Rescue Services has identified 144 buildings with inadequate fire safety facilities in the state capital.
An official of the District Disaster Management Authority said that around five months had gone by since the district administration issued an order directing the fire safety officers to identify and serve notice on buildings which have violated fire safety norms.
"As per the direction, if the violator doesn't comply, the officer should report it to the district fire safety officer who will serve another notice to the violator. If this is not complied with, the officer should report to us. It's been five months and we haven't received a single file yet in this regard ," said the official. The district administration has sought a report from the fire authorities.
Director-General of Kerala Fire and Rescue Services A. Hemachandran said that it was the responsibility of the corporation to enforce fire safety norms. "The Kerala Municipal Building Rules (KMBR) are very clear and we issue the NOC based on that. The local bodies are the enforcing agency. The district administration would step in only if the violations are major and could be a reason for a major disaster. The corporation has the power to cancel their licence if it's a commercial structure," said Hemachandran.
Corporation secretary L.S. Deepa said that only the fire department has the know-how to identify fire safety violations. "We don't have the expertise or technical knowledge to spot violations. They should carry out inspections and should report to the corporation and the district administration. We will also issue notices to the violators," said Deepa.
