TNFRS officials tight-lipped over renewal of NOC

The department sources were tight-lipped about the year of last renewal made on the NOC to the building, though. 

“In most cases, the NOC obtained for the construction would invariably be renewed annually without overturning the previous orders passed by the officers, without any inspection. Further, the routine inspection of the buildings for fire-safety comes under the purview of the TNFRS,” rued a fire officer, who requested anonymity. Pointing out the gravity on the lapses, another TNFRS official said that the building did not have a ‘setback’ on three sides except for the eastern side – the rear side of the building along with the parking. 

“As many as 11 staff were working in the canteen on the terrace, when the fire broke out. Had the setback was absent on the eastern side, the casualty scale would have been tipped the other way,” the official pointed out.  The glaring lapses noticed by the TNFRS team, which was involved in the fire control exercise, include absence of emergency exits, external staircase and fire lift. 

When contacted, N Vijayakumar, District Officer, Chennai City -South, said that the Safety Audits were conducted in several buildings in T Nagar and were asked to file a compliance report. On Chennai Silks, the official said that the building had in fact, applied for renewal. However, the renewal was not done citing the non compliance issue. 

“Safety Audits are continuous process. We have conducted the audits in several commercial buildings on North Usman Road and had listed out the lapses in fire-safety measures. We have filed the status reports in appropriate agencies for further action,” an official noted.