Fire audits not legally required for buildings under 70m tall

Fire audits are mandated only for high-rise buildings in Mumbai.

- Sharmila Ranade

Q. What is the requirement of fire audit for a 30-year-old housing society having 2 buildings of 3 floors each? Prakash Shinde, Chembur

A. There is no legal requirement to conduct fire audits for buildings below 70 meters in height under the existing law. The Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, applies prospectively to new constructions, as the structure of older buildings cannot be modified to comply with the fire prevention and life safety measures prescribed in the Act. However, the Bye-laws require every society to have an emergency plan to address situations like fires. Your society can engage the services of a licensed agency to provide minimum fire safety installations, such as placing fire extinguishers in your society. The agency can also periodically inspect these installations. Some members should be trained to use fire extinguishers in case of an unfortunate fire incident. Regular fire drills can also be beneficial.