'Fire Is Always A Concern In Mumbai'

'As the city grows, so do its fire incidents.'

Twenty-four hours after a fire broke out at a chemical unit in Dombivli, on the outskirts of Mumbai, a charred, chemical stench hangs in the air.

The unit, which belongs to Indo Amines, an industrial chemical manufacturer, stands amidst several other factories, commercial establishments and a school, all within a radius of 500 metres.

This was the third major industrial fire incident reported in the city in less than a month. The firm, with a market capitalisation of about Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion), has informed the exchanges that the reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Stakeholders in the fire safety space point out that there is a common set of reasons for fire mishaps in Mumbai: Electrical faults, the relentless growth of the city, congestion, mis-segregation of materials, and the costs involved for putting in robust fire safety equipment.

The industrial fires are in addition to the fire mishaps that occur in residential areas and non-industrial commercial establishments.

The Indo Amines unit is located in Dombivli's Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area.

The previous month, 10 people died in a similar chemical factory fire in the same industrial area.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), estimated to be spread over 6,300 sq km, is home to several industrial areas, and many of them report minor fire incidents regularly.

A common lament among those struggling to manage the fire incidents is the continuous commercial growth of the city, which leads to over-crowding.

Santosh Warick, director, Maharashtra Fire Services, pointed out that although the Fire Act operates in Maharashtra, it was put in place only in 2008, and many of the establishments came up much before that.

"We cannot implement laws retrospectively," Warick said, adding: "The older units do not have the space to expand, so they end up storing both raw materials and finished goods in the same place."

Warick's department has its own problems. With just 250 fire officers for Mumbai city, we face a manpower crunch when it comes to conducting fire safety surveys, he says.

Over the past few decades, Mumbai has expanded and forced industrial units to move out of the main island city.

For instance, multiple businesses from Dharavi's slums (situated in the centre of the city), which is also home to several micro industrial units, have shifted to suburban areas, such as the old parts of Bhiwandi that are filled with older establishments with little regard for fire safety norms.

"Fire is always a concern in a city like Mumbai. There is just one trend, an upward one, and as the city grows, so do its fire incidents," said a surveyor with an insurance company who did not wish to be identified.

Last month a diaper factory in Bhiwandi caught fire. In fact, fires are so common in this area that the insurance industry prefers to give the entire locality a miss.

"Some areas are best avoided. For instance, the old Bhiwandi area," said the surveyor. Despite the frequency of fire incidents, most agree the norms that exist are stringent enough.

"The NOC (no objection certificate) from the fire department is quite extensive and there are enough checks and balances. Post the Kamala Mills incident, these are being followed and inspected rigorously," said Pranav M Rungta, vice-president, National Restaurant Association of India.

In December 2017, a fire broke out at a pub in Mumbai's Kamala Mills complex, one of the biggest commercial complexes in the city.

High cost of fire safety equipment

The costs of fire safety equipment also act as a deterrent to putting them in place, say experts.

"The main cause of fires in small businesses is not following the norms. These require a good amount of investment; which small industries do not wish to make.

"Even those who invest do not maintain the fire safety assets regularly. There is a lack of awareness, a zero budget for safety and a lack of segregation of materials," said the surveyor quoted earlier in the story.

Miheer Ghotikar, director for HD Fire Protect, which manufactures fire safety-related products, said the one-time cost of fire protection equipment in small-scale industrial units ranges between Rs 2. 5 million and Rs 10 million.

His own office premises, in Thane's Wagle Estate, are equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, among others, and these are regularly maintained and fire drills conducted, Ghotikar added.

"Our fire system is regularly audited by a licensed contractor," he said.

Representatives from the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) said the encroachment of residential areas into the buffer zones around industrial areas was another matter of concern.

"A major issue that small industries face in cities like Mumbai and Thane is the encroachment of residential areas in the buffer zones around the declared industrial areas." said Ashish Sirsat, vice-president and spokesperson, Thane Small Scale Industries Association, which represents MSME players in the MMR region.

"There needs to be a definite, long-term plan for industrial areas, as industries cannot be shifting from one place to another as residential areas crop up around them," Sirsat added.

Fighting fire with tech

Warick's fire safety department has started outsourcing surveys to third-party agencies to address its problem of manpower shortage.

"This has helped reduce instances through awareness, particularly in the case of industries and high-rises," Warick said.

Plans are also afoot for using Internet-of-Things (IOT) based technology for regulations.

"We are looking to regulate residential buildings through IOT," Warwick added. "This is at the public discussions and suggestions phase."

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com