Does "Prevention is better than cure" or " A stitch in time saves nine", ring a bell? And does the bell ring on time, for that matter? National and foreign investment in the property market might run into thousands of crores, but there is a related part thereof, that, many a time, comes to light, only when it’s too late. How? Property loss due to fire has already reached Rs 9,63,42,100 crore as of June 30, 2008. In addition, there have also been five human casualties, according to senior officials in the Fire and Emergency Services Department, Bangalore.

Any high-rise building, 15 metres above ground level, needs to be equipped with appropriate fire protection and suppression systems, to protect people as well property. While the law is seemingly in place for new high-rise buildings, the casualties probably arise from the existing structures that do not have the ability to cope with fire emergencies.

"The nature of fire within a given environment and otherwise, is unaffordable and devastating. It’s violent, destructive and uncontrolled traits remain inherent, " feels Ashok Menon, General Manager, Construction Market Centre. This danger is recognised world over and forms an important part of building regulations which prescribe fire safety requirements with an objective to ensure life safety, property protection and continuity of operations. While the causes of fire remain addressed, the method to retard a combustible element to reduce the spread is often unaddressed.

Survival instinct?

While the Indian real estate industry is growing by leaps and bounds where foreign investment and growth is concerned, the tremendous potential of something as important as fire safety, has not yet been understood yet. Optimists feels this is changing slowly but surely. "India is a reasonably domestic consumption driven market. Gradually as awareness is setting in, people are realising that fire safety actually touches all segments. Lot of builders are moving beyond statutory needs, so also the consumers, who want more safety features,“says M C Muthanna, Chief Operating Officer, Firepro Systems. In any case, the need to protect family and property will never change. So whether the property concerned, is worth Rs 5,000 or Rs 50,000, there will always be the need and urge to protect it, he philosophises.

Differences in global and Indian practices come to the fore easily. “In general, the Indian real estate industry is on par with the developed world, in providing some basic systems. The key difference is the amount of spending. Sophisticated systems like addressable fire detection systems and automatic gas suppression systems are being used in the protection of offices in commercial buildings. But in residential apartments, the spending for installing the life safety equipment is still very low and the equipment used is still basic in design," says Wee Soon Chee, General Manager, Tyco Fire and Security, India. In India, it is required to have more monitoring and advising committees to insist on life safety to the middle and lower segments, suggests Pramoud Rao, Managing Director, Zicom Electronic Security Systems.

Options in fire protection and suppression, in residential as well commercial property, are varied but useful to the core. "For residential apartments that are four floors and above, it is compulsory to install a wet system which includes water pumps (with supply tank), hydrants and hose reels for external and internal areas, and sprinklers for the closed spaces and rooms. For properties that do not have enough water in their premises, a provision has to be made for connecting with a fire tender/ brigade. Fire detection and sprinkler systems have to be provided in landings, basement and other rooms/ areas that are prone to catch fire quickly," says Chee. In commercial property, hydrant and hose reels are used for the entire building premises, while addressable fire alarm systems are used extensively for office space, along with sprinkler systems. For data centre rooms/ control rooms which are manned by people, clean agent gas suppression systems with Inergen are used. Water cannot be used for fire protection at such premises. So inert gases are used to to avoid data loss or damage.

Fire protection and suppression systems in commercial spaces can be installed in retail malls, airports, cinema theatres and multiplexes, auditoriums, convention centres, convenience stores, storage warehouses, hotels and restaurants — thus, preventing loss of life and property to a great extent.

Responsibility matters

A great deal of responsibility lies on the builders, developers and architects in the form of fire safety awareness. The very fact that most building projects are high-rise apartments, only underlines the need to convert the awareness into implementation as well as maintenance thereafter. Builders/ architects are supposed to follow the guidelines for fire protection from the National Building code (NBC) and the prevailing Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) rules. These are statutory guidelines and codes for complying when designing a fire protection system. In addition, some companies comply with MNC Insurers' standards (such as Factory Mutual Global Insurance), informs Chee.  "The latest National Building Code (NBC) of India guides builders/architects on fire safety, along with recommendations to all civil/structural layouts design," verifies Rao.

In India, global guidelines are slowly but surely sitting in place. “Buildings are a lot more safer than they were four years ago,” confirms Muthanna. Awareness is on an upswing — yet not enough — he quickly adds. Upper segment clients, developers and builders have better awareness of fire safety during booking/planning than other segments. In fact, fire safety IS made top priority, as the No Objection Certificate is given only after thorough verification of the building’s fire safety, affirms Rao. Yet, the provision of good life safety systems (fire detection systems, fire protection systems and gas suppression systems), in the premises, has not yet been utilised to its fullest potential by the developers in attracting buyers, adds Chee.

Buyers, on the other hand, need to be more selective in their choices. "The awareness of fire safety is rising among the upper segment clientele. However, fire safety is still not a top priority for them. But we believe that as they become more exposed to fire safety exhibitions and campaigns, it will play a key role in their decision making when selecting apartments," emphasises Chee. India has a long way to go in the implementation of fire safety as compared to developed economies like the US which have extremely efficient emergency services like 911 which see immediate reactions from the police, paramedics and fire fighters.

Though we Indians are, by and large, “not used to even having smoke detectors around”, taking life and property protection from fire seriously, would ensure boom time for Indian realty.