Stay safe by following fire safety norms

M Sreenivas Reddy, District Fire Officer emphasizes on the utmost precautions to be taken at home and commercial establishments

Hyderabad: Taking preventive steps against the free run of rodents in your house, office or commercial establishment can help avert outbreak of fire at your property. Believe it or not rodents are also a contributor to the fire mishaps reported time and again.

M Sreenivas Reddy, District Fire Officer (DFO), Hyderabad points out that rodents are also a cause of fire mishaps as they chew the naked electrical cable and damage it. “When the wires are damaged and metal is exposed they overheat and result in spark leading to fire. If there is dry paper or combustible material lying nearby then imagine how fast the fire spreads,” he says.

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The other concern is when rodents chew both cables at the same time, the positive and negative wires come into contact, they will probably cause a short circuit and spark a fire. “During inspection I notice people stocking fire-fighting equipment all around the shops or offices, it is good. But then again safety measures and precautions are ignored. It should always be prevention being better than cure concept,” he advises.

Offices, commercial establishments, factories and godowns are more prone to fire mishaps and attributed to the rodents as there is no regular upkeep given the vast expanse of the premises. “In godowns and factories people carelessly leave the electrical wiring on the wooden racks or plastic shelves allowing a free access to rodents, it is dangerous. Always a good quality casing should be used to cover the electrical wires,” points out Reddy.

No doubt, villas, farm houses, apartments and independent houses are also no safe zones unless proper efforts are put into conducting frequent checks on the internal electrical wiring. “Dark spots/unattended places in the home are the favourite locations for the rats to rest. So it is advisable that families clean the place frequently and clear the rats else they will bite the electrical wiring passing near it resulting in fire mishap,” says Mohd Rafathullah Baig of AR Engineering Associates.

A family should fix a day in a month and conduct a routine check of all the internal wiring lines in the home and ensure replacement of damaged electrical wires on priority basis. “Following it as a routine practice at home will help in prevention of big financial or even loss of life,” he says.

The rodents are also responsible for gas leakage in the homes and hotels resulting in gas cylinder explosions. “The rodents chew the gas cylinder connecting pipe ensuing leakage of the gas and subsequent fire mishap. Periodic checking of the gas cylinder pipe and timely replacement of damaged one will ensure safety,” explains another fire officer.

Contributors to fire accidents

Birds sitting on the high tension overhead cable wires near high rise buildings, shops, offices or commercial establishments are also contributors to fire accidents.

The fire officials point out that the positive and negative overhead power cables touch each other when birds sit or suddenly fly resulting in sparks. “If the spark falls on some combustible material in the nearby premises there is a risk of it starting fire. We at times have seen fire started after a spark fell on the clothes left to dry in the balcony or dry paper or any other material kept in the balcony or window on the top floor of the building,” explained a fire official.

He advised the people to keep in mind fire safety measures if any overhead electricity cable is passing from near the building.

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