Fire safety is a matter of chance

The narrow lanes of historic Old Delhi charm one and all. As one walks through the bylanes of Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar, Paharganj and Daryaganj, people struggle not to stumble upon each other.

The lanes shrink and the view of the sky is hindered by the net of loose wires as one moves into the interiors. However, these features of Old Delhi become a cause of concern each time there is a fire in the area. Congestion and the net of hanging live wires give a hard time to fire officials who invariably fail to reach the accident spot.

Around two months ago, a fire in Chandni Chowk’s Bhagirath Palace market continued for five days as firemen faced difficulty taking their equipment in. Similar problems were witnessed when it came to putting out the fire at a pichkari shop in Sadar Bazaar recently.

Fire department chief AK Sharma says the problems do not come only because of the narrow lanes but due to slow moving vehicles as well. And because people do not make way for the fire engines.

“You have horse carts, bullock carts, cycle rickshaws, four wheelers and two wheelers jostling in that space. The movement of traffic is very slow. Stretches are very narrow and the structures fragile. Usually, the fire engine has to be stopped and then the fire extinguisher has to be taken inside. Live wires make things worse,” he shares with Metrolife.

Most of the time, the cause of the fire is carelessness or a short circuit because of overloading. By the time firemen reach the spot, flames that have begun at one shop or home have engulfed the adjacent buildings owing to loose wires and overlapping
structures.

Built during Mughal era, the buildings in Old Delhi are vulnerable to fire and wall collapses as residents construct floor after floor. “Fire safety laws cannot be applied to these structures. Most of these buildings are weak and cannot accommodate even very heavy water tanks on their roofs,” he informs.

“Firemen use bikes to reach the spot but they have their limitations. Residents can take small precautions such as being alert when lighting dhoop or agarbatti and throwing cigarette buds in water. Besides, if a fire has broken out, the least people can do is make way for firemen and fire tend­ers,” says A K Sharma.

According to the shopkeepers, the onus lie as much on them as on authorities. Jitendra Pal, owner of Samar Electricals at Bhagirath Palace, says “people run ACs of 1.5 tonnes on 1.5 mm electrical cable, which is an open invitation to fire.“Besides, shopkeepers get new electrical, cable TV, MTNL and CCTV wires without getting rid of the old set. Old wires catch fire very fast. The problem would not be so grave if each building has a fire extinguisher and the people here knew how to use it.”