Fire Audit not done By 99% housing societies in Maharashtra: Official

Nearly 99 percent of the housing societies in Maharashtra have not got their fire audits done, an official claimed on Monday.

The housing societies were taking these essential safety requirements lightly, Maharashtra State Co-Operative Housing Federation chairman Sitaram Rane told reporters.

"Almost 99 of the housing societies in the state have not done their fire audit, which is mandatory," he said.

Referring to the death of three sanitation workers due to suffocation while cleaning a septic tank in a complex earlier this month, Mr Rane said the housing societies should be aware of the safety norms and prevent such incidents from reoccurring.

He said a three-day housing expo would be held in Thane from Friday to raise awareness about various issues and some professional services which the residential societies can avail.

Read: After Surat Incident, Delhi Fire Department To Conduct Safety Audit

Last week, 22 students of a coaching institute were killed in a devastating fire at a four-story building in Surat district of Gujarat. A preliminary probe into the causes of devastating fire in Surat at a coaching class has highlighted various lapses on part of officials of the local municipal corporation as well as the builders.

The probe also found that the structure where the coaching class was operated was prone to fire incidents. It had low ceilings, and tires were used for sitting in the place of chairs.

The builders had hidden the fact that they had added fourth floor to the three-storey Takshashila Complex while seeking regularisation of the structure in 2013 by paying "impact fee".

According to a top bureaucrat, the officials concerned did not conduct a physical inspection of the building before approving the proposal of the builder.

The fire was triggered by a spark in the compressor of the air conditioner fixed between the first and second floors of the Takshashila Complex last Friday, and spread through a vertical display panel to the top floor with a dome structure where the coaching centre was located, as per a preliminary report submitted by Urban Development Department Principal Secretary Mukesh Puri to the state government on Monday.