Maharashtra government makes installation of Fire Evacuation Lift mandatory in high rise buildings

@the_news_21

Mumbai: In a major decision the Energy department of Government of Maharashtra has issued a Circular making installation of Fire Evacuation Lift’s, mandatory in High Rise Buildings with 70 meters and above in heights across Maharashtra. Developers in Maharashtra now will have to install Fire Evacuation Lifts in High – Rise Buildings with 70-meters and Above in Heights.

The new Evacuation Safety Circular is a step towards improving evacuation routes for residents and a Safer and Faster Mode for Fire Officers to reach High Rise Floors during fire emergencies in Maharashtra.

The Circular issued by Maharashtra State’s Energy Department in conjunction with the Municipal Corporation and the Fire Department has made it mandatory to install and operate a Fire Evacuation Lift in every High-Rise Building scaling 70-meters and above since January 2018. The Energy Department has issued the Circular as ‘Advisory on Installation of the Fire Evacuation Lifts in the High-Rise Buildings having height 70 Meters and above.”

Making the ‘Fire Evacuation Lift’ mandatory is seen as a visionary step in providing Safer and Faster route for Fire Officers to reach the higher floors to save lives and assets. Meanwhile, it is one of the safest and fastest modes for evacuating people stranded in emergency situations of fire in High Rise Buildings. Maharashtra has become the first State in India to make Fire Evacuation Lifts mandatory for buildings 70meters and above since January 2018 in what is termed as the solution to mounting emergencies during fire-fighting and provide a safe evacuation mechanism for people and assist Fire Officers to save lives and assets.

As part of the evacuation solutions, many Developers of High – Rise Buildings in the cities like Mumbai have installed or are currently opting to install non-standardized or low graded Fire Evacuation solutions/Lifts. However, these Non-standard Fire Solutions/ Evacuation Lifts may not provide right security and safety to people in the event of a fire due to compromise in quality by the builders and regular passenger lift makers.

In contrast, the Fire Evacuation Lifts are a far more secure and safer option and are developed by specialized teams of a Fire Evacuation Lift Manufacturer. It protects and enables fire-fighters to reach higher floors faster and evacuate a group of 10-18 people of all ages and abilities including pets at one given time in less than three minutes (almost 100 people in 30 minutes approximately). It also enables the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to reach any floor within a minute to fight fire, save lives and assets and thus reduce losses.

As per the new Circular, henceforth, it is mandatory to obtain the permission for erection and License for operation of Fire Evacuation Lifts in the State of Maharashtra.

Further, it will provide a much-awaited solution to the Fire Brigades across cities in Maharashtra and the ERTs in combating emergency fire situations in High – Rise Buildings, as they can use the ‘Fire Evacuation Lifts’ to reach to higher floors rapidly to evacuate people and save assets by dousing fire more efficiently and timely.

The implementation of the new Circular shall be effective immediately from the date of issue for the upcoming Fire Evacuation Lift installations and shall apply with retrospective effect to the existing Fire Evacuation Lift installations.

High-Rise Buildings scaling 70-meters and above in heights in Maharashtra will have to put in place the necessary infrastructure, such as Fire Evacuation Lifts, which provide a much safer and more secure option. This Circular will begin a new chapter of fire evacuation in Maharashtra.