World over, smart interiors key to fire-fighting in skyscrapers

MUMBAI: Fighting fire in highrises starts with creating smart interiors the world over. Instead of depending solely on external equipment such as hi-tech ladders to douse flames from outside, skyscrapers across the globe have built-in mechanisms that are designed to deal with a blaze effectively . But Mumbai, say experts, is going vertical without having adequate fire safeguards in place.
While there are no universal fire-safety standards for high-rises , iconic buildings invest substantially in safety mechanisms, shows data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a USbased association of skyscrapers.

For instance, the 88-storeyed , 452-m-high Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, features an in-built building control system (BCS). This not only controls electricity and airconditioning, but also serves as an emergency system during crises. If a fire breaks out on a particular floor, the BCS curtails the flames to that area by providing a "pressure differential" between that floor and the others.

Iconic towers like Burj Khalifa in Dubai boast of high-speed elevators that have built-in fire-proof corridors and function on power systems independent of other parts of the building (see graphic).
Experts fear Mumbai's vertical growth has outpaced its fire-safety upgrade. Subhash Patil of the Institution of Engineers points out that the National Building Code was last modified in 2005 and needs to be urgently updated. He explains that the codes require high-rises to have fire lifts that run on generators independent of the overall power as a pre-requisite to getting permission, but such elevators are rarely serviced. "During a fire, many water tanks are found without a drop of water. Building maintenance personnel have no formal training in fireprotection systems," said Patil.
This was demonstrated during Sunday's fire in Jolly Maker-1 with sprinklers and extinguishers reportedly being defunct.

Environmental architect Sandeep Goswami says high-rises need to be equipped with highspeed fume extractors, which help reduce smoke. The refuge areas, too, should be fire-retardant (protected from the flames for a period of say five hours).
Experts point out that the codes require high-rises in Mumbai to have refuge areas at a break of every seventh floor where victims can gather during a blaze. However, the lack of corresponding internal fire-fighting infrastructure poses a challenge to evacuation even from these refuge floors. Only a few buildings incorporate safety chutes to shift those trapped to refuge floors.
Glass facades have posed a further challenge, with the BMC now deciding to ban the use of fixed glass sheets on buildings.

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