When one is looking for his potential new house, there are many factors he takes into consideration. One of these many factors is safety- of himself, his family and his belongings. In an urban setting where the use of different types of electronic gadgets is on a consistent increase, fire hazards continue to be a big fear, or risk if one may call it that.

The National Building Code (NBC) 2016 has set separate building by-laws and guidelines for preventing fire in homes in India. The code has provisions for separate guidelines for residential, educational, institutional, assembly, business, mercantile, storage and hazardous buildings.

As an aware consumer, one must check some basic fire safety measures, apart from fire extinguishers, that contribute to making the building fire compliant. Some of these important elements are:

Automatic fire detection and alarm system

This system is required for automatically detecting smoke, heat or fire. The system must initiate an alarm on fire detection.

Emergency lighting

Apart from the lighting fixated on all common areas such as lift lobbies and corridors, the building must also have emergency lights for times when normal light supply fails. Ideally, the emergency lights must be operated through standby power sources.

Escape lighting

A part of the emergency lighting system, escape lighting refers to the lights fixated in the escape routes, ensuring that these routes are well-illuminated when persons are on premises or when the main light shuts down.

Assembly point

Evacuation lifts

Along with the resident lifts used daily, the building must also have fire lifts exclusively for firemen in case of emergencies. These lifts must have a capacity of at least 545 kg (approximately 8 persons) and must function through a separate electric supply. According to the NBC, the lift must facilitate automatically a changeover to an alternate power supply in case of power failure.

Staircase

All buildings must have staircases (easily accessible and in usable condition) for emergency situations. Brick staircases must be constructed such that there ventilation at the landing. If a building has glazed and glass staircases, these must be fire resistant for a minimum of two hours.

Water storage

NBC also states that heavy static water in the form of underground water must be stored in all buildings (available at all times) to fight fire at the rate of 1000 litres per minute. Automated sprinklers must be installed in all buildings that have basements used for car parking or storage.

Exit

Residential buildings shall, ideally, have two means of exit on the ground floor, one of which should lead unobstructed to the street.

Apart from these, one must also undertake a proper inspection of the house, and in that, must insist on a thorough check of all electrical connections. As a consumer, it is important to check the quality of the product (house) one is purchasing. He must demand explanations and proofs of all the above-mentioned provisions without any hesitation.