Fire Hazards & Incidents – Preventing Losses

What this session covered

This NISSMAT webinar addressed fire hazards, fire incidents and the prevention of losses. Opening remarks set out the human and material cost of fires, referring to incidents in India shortly before the pandemic in which occupants of upper floors died for lack of adequate escape routes, and argued that ignorance of fire risk, and non-adherence to fire-safety norms and building codes, remain central problems. It was noted that those who receive fire-safety instruction often neglect it in practice, and that responsibility rests not only with the fire services but also with employers, managers and citizens.

The session featured three presentations addressing complementary aspects of the subject. One speaker set out the fundamentals of combustion and the hazards of smoke, including its effect on visibility and on the respiratory system, before outlining a structured approach to risk management, described as avoidance, reduction, segregation, transfer and acceptance, and an integrated framework of passive and active fire-and-life-safety management. This covered training and drills, prevention from the design stage, the choice of non-combustible materials, containment and compartmentation, and detection and suppression systems, together with the need for installation to specification, testing, maintenance, record-keeping and statutory approval. A second speaker approached the subject from a management perspective, discussing common causes of fire, the reduced time available to escape given modern materials, smoke as the principal cause of death, legal liability, and consequences for revenue, market position, employment and reputation; particular weight was given to fire-protection plans, drills, occupancy limits, exits, risk management and executive leadership in building a culture of safety. A third speaker focused on electrical fires and the protection of electrical panels and cabinets, describing causes such as ageing infrastructure, overloading and poor maintenance, the hazard of using water on electrical fires, and automatic suppression systems using clean agents installed at cabinet, room and building level.

A question-and-answer session followed, in which speakers were asked about the most challenging situations encountered in firefighting, with rescue operations identified as especially difficult, and about fire-safety budgets and how to influence safety behaviour. The discussion returned to a recurring theme, that awareness and a culture of safety are, in the speakers' view, insufficiently cultivated in India, and that education from the grassroots level, together with sustained training and awareness programmes, is the principal remedy available. Closing remarks reviewed the main points raised.

Key points raised

• The session examined fire hazards and the prevention of losses through opening remarks, three presentations and a question-and-answer session, framed around the cost of fires and non-compliance with safety norms and building codes.
• One presentation set out the fundamentals of combustion and the dangers of smoke, then a structured risk-management approach and an integrated framework of passive and active fire-and-life-safety measures.
• A management-focused presentation stressed fire-protection plans, drills, legal liability, and executive leadership in building a culture of safety.
• A third presentation addressed electrical fires and the automatic suppression of electrical panels and cabinets using clean agents at cabinet, room and building level.
• Training, drills and maintenance were a recurring emphasis, and rescue operations were described as the most challenging aspect of firefighting.
• The discussion held that safety awareness and culture are insufficiently cultivated in India and pointed to grassroots education and sustained awareness programmes as the main remedy.