Short circuits in a fire-safe state

The fourth part of the series on fire safety talks about Tamil Nadu's building norms and the violations

- SHINE JACOB

It's a Friday that P Ramasamy would like to forget. Ramasamy, who runs Jayam Metal Finishers, a micro-level automobile ancillary unit in the SIDCO Industrial Estate at Kakkalur on the outskirts of Chennai, recalls the fire that broke out in a neighbouring factory on May 31.

The factory, Zen Paints and Chemicals, packed with inflammable painting material and chemicals, turned into ashes in a matter of time. The fire claimed four lives.

A short circuit was the cause of the fire at Zen Paints, which has been operating here for the last seven years. "In the blast, the windows of my office also got broken. Two trees in my compound got completely burnt and I suffered a loss of 5-6 lakh. Look at my ceiling and windows," Ramasamy says.

However, Chennai is considered among the better performing cities in terms of fire safety. In fact, the entire state of Tamil Nadu has done well in the space of managing fire-related issues. For example, in the last five years, Tamil Nadu remained at the same range: 25,068 incidents in 2019 to 25,469 in 2023. According to the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (DFRS), this led to losses amounting to around 31 crore for properties in 2019 and ₹19 crore in 2023.