Tamil Nadu fire safety check: Short circuits in a fire-safe state

The fourth part of the series on fire safety talks about Tamil Nadu's building norms and the violations

It’s a Friday that P Ramasamy would like to forget. Ramasamy, who runs Jayam Metal Finishers, a micro-level automobile ancillary unit in the SIDCO Industrial Estate at Kakkalur on the outskirts of Chennai, recalls the fire that broke out in a neighbouring factory on May 31. 

The factory, Zen Paints and Chemicals, packed with inflammable painting material and chemicals, turned into ashes in a matter of time. The fire claimed four lives.

A short circuit was the cause of the fire at Zen Paints, which has been operating here for the last seven years. "In the blast, the windows of my office also got broken. Two trees in my compound got completely burnt and I suffered a loss of Rs 5-6 lakh. Look at my ceiling and windows," Ramasamy says. 

However, Chennai is considered among the better performing cities in terms of fire safety. In fact, the entire state of Tamil Nadu has done well in the space of managing fire-related issues. For example, in the last five years, Tamil Nadu remained at the same range: 25,068 incidents in 2019 to 25,469 in 2023. According to the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS), this led to losses amounting to around Rs 31 crore for properties in 2019 and Rs 19 crore in 2023.

According to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), certain public buildings are supposed to take certificate from the DFRS department. "DFRS has its own regulations on standards that have to be followed regarding building construction and maintenance, as well as  measures to tackle fire and disaster situations. After a no-objection certificate from DFRS, we issue  planning permissions for these buildings," says  CMDA member-secretary Anshul Mishra. This certificate is compulsory for all commercial and high-rise buildings. 

To curb such incidents, the state government has set up a panel for monitoring unauthorised constructions in Chennai. A special task force has also been constituted to monitor illegalities in the existing buildings. 

A few years ago, CMDA had issued notices for building rule violations in T Nagar and George Town areas. Based on these notices, DFRS was asked to inspect the concerned buildings and guide CMDA on corrective steps. "Based on the DFRS notice, we have further issued notices to the concerned buildings saying that they must rectify the violations and comply with DFRS recommendations. Otherwise, we will take enforcement action…. Some of the buildings have also applied for the regularisation scheme," Mishra points out. STF had identified around 149 buildings for safety  violations and authorities have already issued warning signs. "We have not had major issues in Chennai. We have been largely compliant in terms of fire hazards,’’ he says, adding that monitoring needs to be strengthened.

According to industrial experts, MSMEs in the area have not seen any major incidents. It may also be because of the products they manufacture. 

"Ambattur estate is majorly auto components manufacturing. They are not using any volatile material. They are all into iron and steel, aluminium, copper. They don't use any chemicals are such raw materials," says Balachandran Muthiah, chief executive officer of Delta Control Systems, an auto component manufacturer based out of Chennai, and former president of the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers' Association (AIEMA).

According to Balachandran, such incidents may happen in areas where MSMEs are into paint additives manufacturing and paper printing, among others. "There is a chance of combustion. There have been one or two such incidents in Ambattur, but they have been more into chemicals or plastics," he says. As per the current guidelines, an NOC, compliance certificate and fire licence should be taken by the MSME sector.

"Anybody starting a business, fire licence is compulsory,’’ explains Balachandran. But he adds that flood is a major cause of concern here. ‘’Several steps are taken by the government to widen canals like the Ambattur-Avadi one. Widening of other canals too is going on." 

According to the state government, the region has suffered a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore in last year's flood and it affected more than 300,000 workers and 1,500 MSMEs. To tackle this issue,  CMDA is planning flood-risk mapping.