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Ropes, sand sacks in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar’s DIY fire-safety plan

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByShiv Sunny
Aug 29, 2019 07:35 AM IST

These contingency methods were prompted by a fire that killed six people in a multi-storey residential building in Jamia Nagar’s Zakir Nagar neighbourhood earlier this month.

Afraid that their lives could be hanging by a thread if another fire were to break out in their locality, residents of south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar have decided to resort to emergency solutions — including a network of ropes that will allow them to climb down balconies, and sacks of sand in the stilt parking areas, in a novel “community policing” initiative.

These contingency methods were prompted by a fire that killed six people in a multi-storey residential building in Jamia Nagar’s Zakir Nagar neighbourhood earlier this month.

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The six victims either jumped off their balconies to save themselves or couldn’t muster the courage and died of asphyxiation.

There were two other major fires in the area in the last six months. All three broke out in the stilt parking of the building and enveloped the structure after setting cars ablaze.

The problem in all three cases was that the narrow bylanes of the locality impeded the entry of fire tenders and severely hampered rescue efforts.

Now, nearly 60 buildings — home to over 400 families — in different neighbourhoods of Jamia Nagar have got thick jute ropes tied to their balconies so that they can climb down to safety in case of fire. They have also kept buckets of sand in the stilt parking areas, and installed automatic fire extinguisher balls that burst if the heat level rises above a certain level in order to douse the flames.

Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (south-east district), said that the “faulty designs” of the multi-storey buildings in these congested parts of the city necessitated this emergency solution as part of community policing.

“In most of these buildings, the electric metres are installed right next to the staircase, which opens into the parking on the ground floor. When a fire starts in the metre boards, vehicles parked near are it quickly gutted and the residents trapped on the upper floors. The terraces too are often found locked by the owners of the top floor,” Biswal added.

The Jamia Nagar police station receives an average of two fire calls from these residential buildings every day.

After the six people died in Zakir Nagar on August 6, the local Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) met with the Jamia Nagar station house officer (SHO) Upender Singh to come up with the idea of ropes, said Biswal.

Over the next two weeks, residents of 60 buildings in neighbourhoods such as Jamia Nagar, Batla House, Zakir Nagar and Joga Bai Extension got the ropes installed in their balconies.

Mohd Saif, owner of the Ahliz Girls Hostel in Batla House, said he was among the first to get a rope fixed to his five-storey building on August 16. “There are 62 girls and women occupying my hostel. I already had fire extinguishers in the building, but the Zakir Nagar fire left me frightened,” said Saif.

Mohammad Yamin, a carpenter who lives right opposite the building that caught fire on August 6, pooled in enough money from other residents of his building to get ropes fixed on every floor. “I had seen how people were jumping down to their deaths. We had spread mattresses on the roads to break their fall, but it was ineffective,” said Yamin.

Mohd Hamza, the RWA president of Batla House, said that the ropes were not the only solution discussed in the meetings. “We encouraged the residents to keep buckets or sacks of sand and mud near their electric metre boards to kill a fire as soon as it starts,” said Hamza.

In several buildings, residents also ordered fire extinguisher balls on the internet. These can be put up near fire hazards — they burst if the heat rises, and release a chemical that douses the flames.

To prevent climbers from slipping and falling while climbing down the ropes in an emergency, the ropes have been knotted at every half-metre for grip. The policemen, and sometimes local painters, are holding demonstrations for the residents.

But Hamza said that children and the elderly may still find it difficult to climb down in case of an emergency. “It will certainly be a great help for the able bodied, but women and children may panic and fall,” said Hamza.

Danish Aleem, a senior security manager with Wipro Technology, said that these concerns are being taken into account. Aleem, who is working with the police and RWAs on the project, said that a decision on equipping every building with a cost-effective safety harness is being contemplated.

“We are working on a basic safety belt that won’t be heavy on the pockets of the residents, but ensure they don’t fall if they slip,” said Aleem.

Vipin Kental, director of Delhi Fire Services (DFS), said that apart from the threat of people letting go of ropes, there was also the concerns of the ropes burning if exposed to heat during a blaze. “This may not be a very safe solution, but an emergency is an emergency and can help save lives,” said Kental.

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