Key Decisions Made in Bihar’s Fire Safety Task Force Meeting, Unsafe Government Buildings to Face Action

Garshiya

Patna: The Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) has identified government buildings in the state that are deemed unsafe from a fire safety perspective. These buildings will first be issued notices, and if no improvements are made, they will be sealed. This decision was taken during a meeting of the Fire Safety Action Plan Implementation Monitoring Committee held at Patel Bhavan on Tuesday.

Dr. Uday Kant, Vice Chairman of BSDMA, chaired the meeting. He emphasized the need for short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans for fire safety, stating, “We need to focus on fire engineering rather than firefighting.”

Dr. Kant also stressed the importance of utilizing modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for predicting fire incidents. He mentioned the ‘Nitish’ pendant, being developed by BSDMA in collaboration with IIT Patna, which will help provide early warnings for various disasters.

Concerns were raised about fire incidents caused by electricity. The Energy Department was directed to stop the use of aluminum wires and install dry transformers.

The Building Construction Department was instructed to strictly enforce the National Building Code and Bihar Building Bylaws. Committee member Paras Nath Rai suggested that local bodies should issue occupancy certificates to new buildings only after they are declared completely fire safe.

Shobha Ahotkar, Director General (Fire Services), highlighted the strengthening of fire services through the purchase of new equipment and recruitment. She mentioned the recent fire audits of hotels and coaching centers, as well as the monthly audits of hospitals.

Vaishali Singh, Assistant Director of the National Fire Service College, participated online and elaborated on the provisions of the National Building Code 2016. She announced the upcoming establishment of a regional training center in Bihta near Patna.