1. CHALLENGES IN INDUSTRIAL FIRE SAFETY
R.C Sharma
(Former Director Delhi Fire Service and
DIG Fire CISF)

2. INTRODUCTION
Industrial premises come in all shapes, sizes and risk factor w.r.t. fire safety challenges, therefore there is no “ One- Size- Fits-All” solution.
Attitude of “ It has never happened before” does not work.
The life safety must be given top priority as no amount of compensation is good enough.

3. What needs to be done? Identify the Fire Hazard
Identify the people at risk.
Evaluate, Remove, Reduce the Risk and protect the premises from Risk.
Identify the training needs, if any.
Prepare emergency plan to be ready for any potential Fire Safety challenges.
Comply with legislations.
Check for the aging factor of the equipment as well as fire protection facilities.
Control on use of mobile phones near hazardous premises/ offshore platforms

4. Knowing about major causes of fire in Industry
 As per NFPA study, five major causes are:
Combustible dust,
Hot work sparks,
Flammable liquids, gases,
Equipment and machinery,
Electrical Hazard.

5. The Remedy looks very simple
 Don't allow accumulation of dust,
Precaution during hot work,
Know the Hazard from flammable liquids and gases, proper storage, Control on ignition source and PPE for everyone
Maintenance of machinery, good housekeeping to be observed
No overloading, temporary connections, extension cords should be allowed.
Use antistatic equipment.
Good Reporting system i.e. “ Anyone who observers- must report” should be followed.

6. Learning from past experience
 Gandhinagar Delhi, garment unit fire,
Coal conveyor belt Fire at Badarpur power station.
HPCL tank fire during maintenance in Gujrat,
IPCL Nagothane fire,
Okhla Container depot fire.
Noida electronic goods warehouse fire.

7. Conclusions Learn from experience of others and share your experiences
Near miss evaluation and information, can prevent many future fire accidents.
Knowing the fire hazards, the prevention, protection measures and means of escape are the key factors.