February 2019 would be a milestone month for Aludecor wherein we organised two back to back events on our initiative to #BeatTheFire by sensitizing the stakeholders of the industry. After successful completion of the seminar at Mumbai we moved to Delhi with the initiative. Delhi leg of the event brought together personalities from different fields to discuss the issue of Fire Safety and sensitisation of the stakeholders on the same.
Fire is one of the top 3 risks for India. The Kamala Mills fire in Mumbai and the Bawana fire in Delhi which killed many are still fresh in our minds. Realizing the gravity of the situation in our country, Aludecor as a responsible brand is striving to create fire safety awareness and bring forth proper implementation methodologies that can help to make our country fire safe. Year after year, people are dying in incidents that are termed ‘accidents’ but are actually man-made disasters. Though there are policies that regulate the compliance of fire safety, implementation and vigilance have been found wanting.
To address this burgeoning issue, Aludecor, a pioneer in the world of Metal Composite Panels, offering fire safety solutions, held a discussion session between key industry thought leaders and stakeholders to exchange ideas and share knowledge about the best construction practices. Titled #BeatTheFire, the discussion was attended by Mr. Anas Rizvi, Secretary – Fire & Security Association of India (FSAI, Delhi Chapter), Prof. Divyakush, President, Indian Institute of Architects, Ar. Charanjit Singh Shah, Founder & Principal, Creative Group, Ar. Shridhar Rao, Director, r+d studio, Mr. Ashok Kr. Khurana, Director General (Retd.), CPWD and Independent Director of NBCC India Ltd., Dr. Gaurav Srivastav, Dean, IIT Gandhinagar, Ar. Sushant Verma, Founding partner & Research head, rat[LAB], Er. Ashish Rakheja, Managing Partner – AEON Integrated Building Design Consultants; Chairman, Technical Committee of Indian Green Building Council, Mr. Rahul Gupta, General Manager, India, Element Materials Technology and Ar. Shamit Manchanda, Chief Architect – Manchanda Associates; Chairman – The Indian Institute of Architects, Northern Chapter was the moderator of the panel discussion. Also present was Mr. Ashok Kumar Bhaiya, Chairman & Managing Director, Aludecor who urged all the stakeholders of the industry to come together to make this society and the nation a fire safe one. He stressed on the concerted efforts and the usage of the materials which are the right fit in today’s buildings and can be saviour for all of us in the times of fire incidents.
Fire was in top 5 risks in India as per the FICCI-Pinkerton India Risk Survey 2017. But in 2018, Fire as a major risk has surged upward to top 3 risks in the same survey.
The reasons for fire being one of the top risks for India are:
- Numerous fire incidents and significant losses of life and property in 2018
- Inspections across major cities in India, which revealed that there are many factories and high-rise buildings deviating from the fire safety norms
- Poor implementation and coordination between different government bodies regulating the fire safety norms continue to be a big challenge
- There is an acute shortage of resources in India with respect to manpower and, equipment for fire fighting. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, in 144 towns with a population over 1 lakh, there is a huge deficiency of fire fighting infrastructure.
There are many instances of random inspections by the fire departments or the corporation or municipal bodies in the current times. But if the violators are not penalized, any significant improvement in the risk will be a distant dream. There has been a steep rise in the construction of buildings in India, especially High Rise buildings. Because of its peculiar nature, fire in residential buildings, particularly high rise buildings becomes more complex and the salvaging operations become more difficult. Thus, fire incidences in residential high rises result in many deaths and huge property losses. Maharashtra and Gujarat, our two most highly urbanized states, account for about 30% of the country’s fire accident deaths. There is a close correlation between deaths due to fire-related accidents and population density associated with urbanization.
Dr. Gaurav Srivastav (Dean, IIT Gandhinagar) harped on promoting the fire safety related awareness from the root level and linking it to the cognitive level. The most complex thing in the known universe is the human brain. We can change learning practices for the better, and impact outcomes by understanding cognitive science in general, and the learning sciences in particular. Fire safety courses at educational institutions will drive the forthcoming generations to adopt fire safety easily into their behaviour via the cognitive level.
Let’s start at the neural level to get down to the basics. At its core, learning is about strengthening the connections between certain neurons. It’s safe to say that the neurons that fire together, wire together. There’s a dire need of fire testing and R&D facilities at major public institutions as well. Overall the safety discipline has to be inculcated into the system.
Ar Sushant Verma from ratLAB was very candid and specific on the fact that for achieving fire safety in modern buildings, computational designs are helping the Architects and Builders in creating spaces or structures which can demonstrate that the proposed building design satisfies the fire safety and evacuation requirements, in accordance with the building regulations.
The panelists also discussed that often the choice of building materials can go a long way in minimizing the destructive impact of fire and give enough time to the residents for evacuation. When looking into the flame spread characteristics of a façade, it is important to evaluate the materials used in the same. In particular, combustibility, ignitability, and spread of flame across the surface must be evaluated. Crisis situations do not take place every day. We have to be prepared for them. Keeping that in mind, the National Building Code 2016 has set certain rules related to fire and life safety that developers have to follow.
While absolute safety from fire is not practically attainable, the NBC specifies measures that provide that degree of safety which can be reasonably achieved. The NBC 2016 guidelines are advisory and not binding on state governments or civic bodies that grant sanctions for building constructions. Building fires can be prevented by proper implementation of the NBC 2016.
Elements of fire protection that can minimize loss of life and property include the use of non-combustible building materials, the use of fire-resistive building assemblies, the installation of automatic detection devices and sprinklers, and the development of improved fire-fighting techniques. The role of non-combustible building materials and fire-resistive assemblies in fire protection provisions must not be overlooked or diminished. Fire retardant (FR) materials have become an essential ingredient in modern construction. With more skyscrapers towering towards the skies, fire protection has taken centre stage worldwide. Using genuine FR material is critical to safety in the Fire Rated Construction System. Asa major step to arrest fire casualties, Aludecor showcased their newly launched Firewall A2.
Aludecor promotes the mandatory usage of fire retardant ACP sheet in India. All of Aludecor’s exterior products can be fire rated. Firewall A2 is the highest grade core of fire retardant ACP, A2. Firewall A2 has negligible heat release, doesn’t contribute to flame spread, generates no smoke and produces no flaming droplets. Aludecor has also become the only Indian manufacturer to indigenously manufacture A2 core. This gains huge significance in the backdrop of the fact that Indian cities are going to have more and more skyscrapers in the future.
Together let’s #BeatTheFire!
