Come June thousands of students will prepare to leave for schools post-holidays kicking off another academic year. But what worries them would be the poor preparedness of many schools in regard to fire mishaps.
Lack of proper fire-fighting equipment or even basic norms satisfying the National Building Code of India, 2005 poses a threat to students of schools run in congested apartments and multi-storey buildings.
Acquiring a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response & Fire Services Department is mandatory for any school before applying for permission with the School Education Department. Periodic renewal of the NOC is a must. Unfortunately, a majority of the city’s private and corporate schools do not have valid NOCs. According to the Regional Fire Officer in fire prevention wing of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, S.V. Chowdary, only around 150 schools have valid NOCs. “Nearly 100 schools have outdated NOCs and we have served notices to them after inspection. However, there is no response. There are many schools that do not have any NOC so far.”
According to the School Education Department, there are 492 schools in city, including 105 municipal, 367 private schools and others. These are gearing up to reopen from second week of June after summer holidays.
“First they have to take NOC and then renew every year. Education Department should insist on NOCs when giving permissions. Implementation of the rule would be only possible if the Education Department acts strictly against the violating schools. We will write a letter to the department asking them to conduct special drive to check NOCs,” Mr. Chowdary told The Hindu. Proper ventilation is another facility lacking in most schools. Schools having more than G+1 stories should maintain a full-fledged fire safety system with fully-automated roof, attached with water sprinklers. Besides, every school building needs to have a sufficient approach road so that ambulance and fire engines can enter during a mishap. Also, the width of corridors, classrooms and other paths in the school premises must be as per the building code.
