‘Include fire safety in academic module’

Fire safety measures should be made a mandatory part of the academic curriculum in schools and colleges, said Prakash Mishra, the director general of fire services.

“Basic fire safety lessons will have a tremendous impact on the young minds,” he said, adding that the curriculum should also focus on the precautionary measures to avoid causalities during fire accidents. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Project Heads, Architects and Consultants Conclave (PACC 2018), organised by the Fire and Security Association of India (FSAI) at a hotel in Jaipur on Friday.

Earlier, PACC 2018 was inaugurated by PACC chairman Pankaj R Dharkar and FSAI national president KP Dominic.

Dharkar said builders need to alter their mindset that fire and safety protocols are an additional expense. “They need to believe that it is a necessity to save lives. Developers and architects should do away with the belief that signage destroys the beauty and architecture of a building. Almost 90% deaths are due to commotion, which can be filtered by use of proper signage. New technology like digital signage cum smoke detectors is an efficient investment for upcoming buildings,” he said.

Dominic said that the conclave will focus on how to make optimal use of technology for protection of life and property. “The vision of FSAI is ‘Change in Thinking’. There is a need to change the attitude and mindset of the people, so that they adopt fundamental fire safety measures into their daily lives. FSAI has already trained 4.80 lakh students in the fire safety and security,” he said.

Former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, Dr Vikram Singh and assistant commissioner of Singapore Civil Defense Force Lian Wee Teck were also present.

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