In terms of the number of people killed in one single location, the fireworks accident in Paravur is the biggest disaster in Kerala in the 21st century and possibly in our modern history, too. While all accidental deaths are tragic and regrettable, the nature of injuries which leads to fireworks deaths is some of the most horrific. Conceptually it is no different from a large bomb blast. People die from the initial pressure wave, the fire and also the projectiles created during the explosion. Bodies close to the ‘ground zero’ of the explosion are often mutilated beyond recognition. A large number of people will have to pass through painful recovery process with often-lifelong residual disabilities. So clearly as a society we should learn our lessons and try to prevent such disasters from happening in future.
The initial response to the incident from the district, state and central authorities has all been commendable, exceptional and gave positive signals but it may be remembered that the blame game started within hours of the accident. It is an accepted practice that the focus should be on the survivors in the early stages of a disaster so that society can put its collective resources together to ensure that the survivors and victims’ families receive the best possible support.
A disaster always brings the communities together and their goodwill gets translated into material support as well as political mandate for decision-makers to bring in changes. If we start to dissect the disaster too early, the community will feel that some people are to be blamed and hence the guilty have the primary responsibility for redressing the situation. Often the victims and survivors themselves may be blamed indirectly, which does no good to their welfare.
Experience shows that disasters don't happen just from one legal lapse nor does legal compliance assure safety from disasters. Even those people who may have breached a law did not deliberately plan to have an accident. Accidents happen when a series of safety controls is breached with no existing systems giving an early warming. It then gets compounded because there are no adequate emergency response systems in place.
A professional safety investigation should focus on the entire chain of events so that the root causes of the incident can be identified. Once such lessons are identified, it should then be translated to better procedures, legislations and training requirements. Only when the lessons learnt from a major disaster are fully understood and mainstreamed into society that sustainable improvements in safety are achieved.
A professional safety investigation on this incident should review certain key points such as the chemicals that were brought in for the firework show and their quantities, the storage arrangements, the consideration made regarding the unusually high temperature in Kerala this summer, the training of those people who were handling the explosives, the crowd control arrangements in place, separation between the display area and the crowd, early warning systems, emergency response systems of the fireworks operators, the temple authorities and local authorities.
It may also be investigated if there was a systematic risk assessment of the various scenarios which could develop during a firework incident and whether it was discussed among the officials of the temple and the local administration. Many of these questions will throw up uncomfortable answers but may not pinpoint a single guilty person or institution. For example, even though we have hundreds of firework shows in the state, there is not even an ITI course on pyrotechnics in Kerala.
The art of pyrotechnics has always been learnt informally and often transferred from generations to generations. New developments in this area, including on safety precautions, never reach our practitioners. The fact that our fireworks still focus on deafening sounds than colourful wonders is just an indication on how primitive and conservative this field remains copared to the rest of the world. This is in a state where there are training centres for teaching people how to climb coconut trees or perform magic!
The investigations should also look at two additional important points. First, is it really feasible to conduct a firework show in a heavily-populated place like Kerala following every applicable law? Second, if one had followed all applicable laws, is a disaster still possible? For example, it must be found what are the current laws regarding preparation of emergency management plans for festivals organised in temples, churches, mosques or by the state (say for Onam or big sports events).
It may also be found how many people in our temple administration or government are familiar with professional contingency planning and the need for providing adequate training, including mock drills, to prevent a disaster situation happening. The state disaster management authority along with the Institute of Land and Disaster Management Institute prepared an emergency management plan for Sabarimala in 2015. Such plans should be made mandatory for all institutions which have to deal with large crowds, be it religious or secular (including political gatherings).
As we often say in disaster management, “plans are nothing, planning is everything”. So it is not about getting a written emergency plan prepared by third party but it is about getting the various actors involved ((in this case the fireworks experts, temple administration, local institutions including emergency response institutions) and the community coming together to review the risk and discuss the options. The Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level (APELL) approach developed by the UN Environment Programme could be an ideal template for such multi stakeholder based emergency planning.
(The author, chief of Disaster Risk Reduction in the UN Environment Programme, has over 25 years of international experience in disaster management. The views expressed are personal and may not reflect those of the United Nations.)
