The Chandigarh municipal corporation’s fire department has finalised fire-safety norms for paying guest (PG) accommodations in the city. The development comes a day after the UT administration made it mandatory for those running these facilities to obtain no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the fire department in the wake of the fire tragedy at a PG facility in Sector 32 recently, which claimed lives of three girl students.
According to the norms, a fire-safety NOC will not be issued unless PG owners install ISI-marked fire extinguishers, automated sprinkler system, illuminated exit sign boards and an exclusive terrace water tank, with a capacity of 5,000 litres, for fire emergencies.
There is an additional requirement of a hose reel system and manually operated electronic fire alarm system in case the PG premises have more than 15 rooms. An additional terrace water tank of 5,000 litre capacity is required if the basement area is above 200 square metre.
Chief fire officer Anil Garg said these norms have been sent to the UT administration for approval. The norms will become applicable once the nod is received. The MC fire department has already started inspecting registered PG facilities, based on the list shared by the UT estate department. There were around 100-odd registered PG facilities in the city when the fire tragedy struck in an unregistered facility.
As many as 32 new PG accommodations have been registered with the estate department in the past one week. The fire department has also listed additional precautions in addition to the above norms. Prominent among them is the strict prohibition of using flammable material when making compartments in rooms. Apart from that, the guidelines say that PG accommodations having a floor area of 500 square metre must have access to a minimum two exits. There must be adequate provision of natural ventilation and lighting. The entire furniture must be treated with flame-resistant material. Dumping of any sort of waste material or volatile or flammable liquids is strictly prohibited.
All escape routes must remain clear of any sort of obstruction, round the clock. All electrical wirings and installations must comply with the Bureau of Indian Standard norms. The rules also make it mandatory for PG owners, employees and occupants to have basic know-how of using the fire-safety equipment. They must also conduct periodic evacuation drills in consultation with the fire department.
