For commercial and residential properties, Fire safety is a serious concern. It is the duty of every responsible organization to ensure that their offices and commercial buildings are well prepared to combat a fire hazard at any point of time. It can start with a tiny spark and go on to destroy a building, its contents and even endanger the lives of people who may remain trapped inside during the fire incident. If a building lacks adequate fire safety precautions, it can become a challenge to bring the fire under control and nip it in the bud.
A fire incident can happen inside a commercial or residential building due to a variety of factors. Some of the most common causes of fire are listed below:
a) Electric Short Circuit – A lot of fire incidents happen due to overload or electric short supply.
b) Smoking – Careless smoking or not disposing the smoking material properly are the reasons behind a lot of fire incidents.
c) Cooking – Flammable materials like oil and grease present in pantry and kitchen can catch fire, resulting in fire incidents.
d) Heating Equipment – Commercial buildings have furnaces, radiators and boilers that sometimes lead to situations where the building becomes overheated, resulting in fire incidents.
e) Arson – Arson is the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to a property by an individual or group of individuals. A robust security system is the best protection against arsonists.
Every organization needs to take necessary steps to ensure fire safety for their commercial and residential properties. The management team at Apeejay understand that fire safety is a serious concern and takes proactive steps to ensure fire safety in all their properties. The steps can be broadly classified into five categories:
- Creating Awareness among Employees on Fire Safety
At Apeejay, the senior management always takes out time from their busy schedule to educate and impart knowledge among the employees regarding fire safety and prevention. We arrange mock drills at regular intervals at all our properties to evaluate the preparedness of firefighting equipment and installations and make employees aware of how to make a safe and quick exit in case a fire incident happens.
- Regular Checking of Fire Detection System and Firefighting Equipment
At Apeejay, we conduct regular mock drills on firefighting. During the drill, the real performance of all the available firefighting installations and equipment, viz. Hose Reel, Wet Riser, Downcomer, Yard Hydrant system, Fire Extinguishers, Emergency Lighting, Automatic Detection and Alarm System, Sprinkler System, Smoke Management System, Fire Doors, Water Tanks, Fire Pumps, etc. are tested and deficiencies if any are recorded in the Fire and Emergency Drill Check List. Our Fire Fighting department immediately takes note of the deficiencies if any and rectify them to ensure fire and life safety. Our Fire Fighting department also ensure that in case of a power cut the DG (Diesel Generator) is available to make Fire Pumps, Fire Alarm System, Emergency Lights and PA Systems operational in times of crisis.
- Periodical Checking of Electrical Wiring and Equipments
Faulty wiring and short circuit are common reasons for many fire incidents. At Apeejay, we regularly check if our electrical circuit and wiring are installed properly and if there is any threat of potential hazard anywhere, we fix it immediately. We periodically check all the electrical sockets, cords, and wires and escalate it immediately whenever we notice any glitch or potential hazard to get them fixed immediately.
- Emergency Escape
Having an emergency exit and making employees aware of it is of paramount importance for firefighting. It is not advisable to take the elevators during a fire incident. At Apeejay, we train our employees to keep calm and not to panic, run or shout during a fire emergency. Every building has a plan for safe evacuation and the real challenge is to execute it in a timely and efficient manner. In an event of any emergency, our trained security guards assist people for safe evacuation.
- No Smoking
We at Apeejay are committed to ensure a smoke-free environment for our employees. Smoking inside our buildings are strictly prohibited because there is a risk of fire outbreak in case the cigarettes are not disposed of properly.
