Fire Safety in Public Places

Last month's terrible fire that ripped through two upscale restaurants in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills has come as a shocking wake up call. Fourteen people lost their lives. Most were young people in their twenties and thirties whose bodies were found piled up in the toilet, where they retreated hoping to escape the fire. This could have been any of us, who visit restaurants, bars, clubs to enjoy a night out!!

To prevent such incidents repeating themselves, we have compiled a few useful fire safety tips to keep in mind when enjoying yourselves at a public place.

• Know your exits. Wherever you are, you must take a moment to mentally note where the different exits are. These signs are usually lit up and easy to find. Most of the people who died in the Kamala Mills fire tragedy had trapped themselves in an un-ventilated bathroom with no escape and they suffocation to death.

• Be aware of location of fire extinguisher and / or water hose. Observe as if your life depends on it. It does.

• Our fire safety norms are followed rarely in public places. Therefore, avoid shows where the performers use fire as a prop.

• Heat and therefore smoke rises, staying low, as low as you can get, helps. If there is smoke in the room it is advisable to crawl on your belly. Almost all deaths from fire arise from suffocation caused by smoke and not from the actual fire.

• If you are trapped in a room with no exit the best thing you can do is stay low to the ground, breathe through a cloth or clothing over your mouth and nose, and make some kind of a signal to the outside (example hanging any garment, even a tablecloth out of a window). If windows are locked, break them and try to signal for help. 

We urge you to take a few minutes to be aware of your surroundings and stay safe!

At GroupL Services, we provide fire safety training at our clients’ sites. Please email us on first-impressions@groupl.in to schedule a fire safety training.