Sri Lanka has recently witnessed a spike in fire incidents of varying intensities. One of the most tragic incidents was the devastating fire at the Horana Senehase Kedella elders’ home in June which claimed the lives of 12 residents while leaving six others injured.
The Colombo Fire Services Department had received 338 fire calls by mid-October. According to fire safety professionals, one of the main reasons for the spike in fire incidents is due to lack of fire safety compliance.
In Sri Lanka, fire services had been established in 1892, over a century ago. This is why the British standards are still being followed. The motto of these standards is that fire prevention is better than fire fighting. Here, the three Es – Engineering, Education and Enforcement is being taught to firefighters and professionals involved in fire prevention. According to Kamal Wilson, chief fire officer at the Fire Services Department, when a building is being constructed there is some kind of risk associated with it. Therefore, he said that it is important to assess this risk and recommend fire safety compliance guidelines. “There are two things to consider; active prevention and passive prevention. Active prevention is where people come forward to douse the fire and smoke. Passive prevention is when facilities come into play. These are facilities required for people to be rescued in the event of a fire. For instance, if a fire occurs, buildings should be built in a way so that the fire could be contained within that area. This is a passive approach,” he told the Daily Mirror. Wilson noted that the architect would practically adopt all these features into a building design. “So the responsibilities of fire prevention are vested upon the architect, all the way up to occupants in a building. So, a building should include fire exits, insulation and other materials to contain a fire. Materials could include wood, steel and concrete. Even materials such as aluminum is being used, but irrespective of the material, fire safety compliance is a must,” he said.
Once a building or house is being constructed, it is often modified using attractive paints and wall cladding with paintings, curtains on windows, carpets on floors and so on. Wilson said that all these are threats to fire safety. “These features come with their own risks. Even though we don’t take these seriously at a household level, it has to be taken seriously when it comes to a manufacturing plant or other commercial buildings. Because in these buildings, occupancy is high. Many activities are being done, there’s a heavy electricity consumption and in case of fire, the materials used to modify the building and raw materials brought for manufacturing purposes may contribute to the fire. So, general housekeeping rules need to be followed to avoid any fire threats,” he added. Wilson noted that attitudinal and cultural issues contribute to lapses in terms of compliance. He said that this is where enforcement comes to play.
When the fire services department submits their recommendations, buildings owners need to comply. But Wilson says that the spike in fire incidents is mainly because the three Es are not being followed. He observed that people in large scale commercials buildings don’t take fire compliance seriously. “Proprietors of certain commercial buildings don’t show an interest towards fire safety compliance and these are the buildings that are vulnerable to catch fire. One issue for this lack of interest is the cost factor. A considerable percentage of income or investment should be allocated for fire prevention and safety. But people are reluctant to do it. Fire prevention regulations vary depending on the scale, location and interior of the building,” he explained. Wilson said that many buildings don’t have first aid fire protection equipment. “A fire has varying intensities – it could occur near an electrical circuit or some raw materials such as clothes could catch fire, or it could happen due to fuel or gas leak. There is a globally accepted fire classification on different approaches to be taken depending on the scale and intensity of the fire. These aren’t complex tasks. Occupants in a building or a home have some simple tasks to fulfill in the event of a fire. But the laziness to comply with these steps result in major accidents,” he noted. He recalled the elders’ home tragedy in Horana that happened in June. Wilson said that the main reason was because they haven’t fulfilled the fire safety compliance requirement. “The proprietor of this home was praised for his humanitarian efforts, but fire safety compliance also falls within the humanitarian aspect,” he said.
Wilson underscored the fact that Sri Lanka still lacks a Fire Safety Act. The British standards too, haven’t been fully implemented. The Fire Services Department had begun as a small volunteer group. Today, it has a workforce of 501 people including firefighters, fire prevention officers and so on. Out of them, there are 273 fire fighters, 81 vehicle operators, around 30 supervisors, duty officers at respective stations and so on. Within Colombo city limits there are six sub stations. According to Wilson, fire services come under the purview of local government authorities. But he told Daily Mirror that not all local government authorities have a fire services unit. As per the guidelines, the fire brigade should report to a location under seven minutes. But there are practical challenges that makes this task a difficult one. Wilson said that this is a huge lapse that needs to be addressed. “During the Homagama helmet factory fire, fire services had to be deployed from Kotte or Dehiwela because the respective local government authority didn’t have a fire services unit. Depending on the traffic, the duration extends. When there’s a delay in reaching the location, chances are that the fire may have spread and caused damage,” he added. Even though its purview falls within Colombo 1-15, the Department had deployed teams to respond to recent fire incidents that had occurred in Kaduwela, Wattala, Kelaniya, Dehiwela and Kerawalapitiya as well.
As per guidelines, if a fire occurs, people in that location should be evacuated under three minutes. But without fire escape routes, evacuation is impossible. These have to be designed by the architect. But Wilson said that the staff or occupants of a building should be given fire safety training in order to carry out effective evacuation efforts. “This is why fire drills and rehearsals are essential. We are being blamed for not sending the fire brigade on time. But they are the third responders in the event of a fire. The first responders are people in the building, They should operate the active fire protection equipment and try to control the fire. In order to operate these equipment the staff should be trained. This doesn’t mean that everybody should attempt to douse the fire. There are fire response teams being established in big companies. They are being trained regularly and will respond following the activation of the fire alarm or some other indication. While they respond to the fire, others should start moving out of the building and gather at an open space,” he said.
Once the architect completes the building design, the fire services department provides requirements for fire protection systems. Wilson told Daily Mirror that the first step is fire detection to alert people in a building in case of a fire or related threat. “Once the alarm goes off it becomes easier to respond to the fire. First aid fire protection equipment should be included in every building. But there is no Act for people to comply to. In the current context this is the responsibility of the local government authority,” he added. However, without fire services units, people are unable to carry out effective fire response operations. “Therefore, buildings should adopt new technologies to control fires and these should be done based on risk assessments. Staff and occupants in a building should be made aware of these fire safety regulations and guidelines. The Fire Services Department should conduct annual assessments, observe loopholes and rectify them. This way, we would be able to prevent fire incidents,” he added.
The Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) fire regulations in Sri Lanka are governed under the CIDA Act No. 33 of 2014. These rules set the mandatory minimum fire protection, structural safety and emergency response standards for new and renovated buildings. Regulations vary depending on the type of building. Categories include apartments, offices, factories, hospitals, hotels and schools. Wilson said that buildings should comply by these regulations. “Thereafter the fire services department would inspect these regulations and issues a Certificate of Conformity. It is after the issuance of this certificate that this building is permitted to commence their intended business,” he said. But Wilson noted that this certificate alone isn’t enough and an annual assessment is necessary in order to obtain an annual fire clearance.
Wilson observes various challenges that makes fire prevention a difficult task for the department. These include the use of low quality equipment and materials by certain building owners who carry out fire safety compliance for the sake of it. The Department also lacks a mandate to monitor these aspects and regulate the use of proper materials and equipment is another challenge. The lack of technological expertise and the lack of a capacity to conduct regular monitoring are other challenges. Wilson said that even though a fire hazard is a man made disaster, it could also happen due to natural disasters. “Fire services is one aspect of infrastructure development in a country. Fire services are being established based on population density, geographical anomalies, dominant industries, lifestyle patterns of people and other factors in a given area. Fire services should be improved alongside technology and this is one feature that determines the level of progress in a country,” he underscored. In his concluding remarks, Wilson said that fire safety compliance is a must. “People should avoid doing minor mistakes when at home. Remove phone chargers from a plug base and put off lamps or incense sticks before leaving a house. Consult a professional if there’s an electricity malfunction. Such little steps could prevent major disasters,” he said.
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