Recent Fire Incidents and How Blazemaster® Can Help in Mitigating Them.

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Blazemaster CPVC | fire safety | on April 11th, 2022

Accidental fires continue to be a major cause of human deaths in India. According to the 2020 Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, National Crime Records Bureau report, fires in buildings, including residential buildings, schools, factories, and government, alone accounted for 5593 deaths. Of this total, 57.6 percent of total deaths were found to have occurred in residential buildings.

A common theme among these fire incidents is that ineffective or non-existent Fire Protection Systems caused most. Two recent fire incidents where this was the case include the November 2021 fire in a Kandivali, Mumbai high rise and a Covid-19 hospital ward in Ahmednagar.

Source - Times of India

An effective Fire Protection system can withstand the rigors of time, provide effective and timely assistance and provide cost savings to builders. Here we discuss how BlazeMaster® CPVC Fire Protection Systems do just that and are the best answer to tackling common institutional and infrastructural challenges affecting fire safety in India.

BlazeMaster® Fire Protection Systems Provide Longer-Lasting Performance

In July 2021, an audit by the Noida fire department found that the fire safety systems of many buildings in the city are inoperational or in a state of extreme neglect. Salt deposits in pipes leading to choking of fire sprinklers, inadequate servicing of equipment, and outdated systems were the major contributors. This is not an isolated incident as other states and cities in Mumbai, Pune, etc., have reported similar neglect of equipment.

The solution for this issue is installing an easy-to-maintain and installing fire protection system that can withstand the rigours of time. BlazeMaster® CPVC pipes experience zero Microbial Induced Corrosion(MIC). This is a step up from steel pipes that are susceptible to corrosion, scale buildup and leakages, which increases the frequency of maintenance and ultimately costs.

BlazeMaster® Provides Fire-Fighting Support in Hard to Access High Rise Buildings

Infrastructural challenges that affect fire fighting include narrow roads hindering access to buildings, lack of equipment to access high-rise floors and dedicated fire exits for access. According to senior fire officials in Mumbai, high-rise buildings pose particular challenges for fire mitigation. Access to such facilities requires extremely tall ladders, which the fire stations are currently not equipped with. Moreover, Indian roads are not made to handle the weight of extremely tall ladders.

Without government intervention, a more effective solution is building an effective sprinkler system that can be installed even in the tightest spaces. BlazeMaster® Fire Protection Systems are designed for quick installation in narrow spaces, providing firefighters convenient fire fighting support in areas where their traditional equipment might not reach easily.

In addition, BlazeMaster® has developed a unique system wherein existing metal pipes in the Fire Protection System of older buildings can be seamlessly integrated with CPVC pipes. This means significant cost savings for builders who can enjoy the excellent value from a superior Fire Protection Systems system like BlazeMaster® without reworking their existing system.

A luxury hotel in Pune made just that choice in 2020 and added BlazeMaster® CPVC pipes to ensure better safety for their guests. This retrofit project was carried out at a massive scale safely, quickly, and to the satisfaction of all due to the specific features provided by BlazeMaster® CPVC pipes.

BlazeMaster® Fire Protection Systems Complement Institutional Fire-Fighting Efforts

According to a news report, India severely lacks firefighting resources with a shortage of fire stations, workforce, and vehicles. An effective fire safety system is a must to reduce the burden on firefighters and the rate of casualties during building fires. After a recent high rise fire incident in Mumbai, a senior Mumbai Fire Brigade official echoed the sentiment that the building's internal fire fighting system must work to fight the fire. The Fire Brigade can only supplement these efforts.

However, despite this, builders are apathetic about installing or maintaining fire safety pieces of equipment with short term cost saving the main concern. In Mumbai, a fire broke out in a high rise building in October 2021, resulting in the loss of one person with ineffective fire sprinklers being blamed for the casualty. In April, a similar incident happened in a well-known hospital in Virar, killing 15 Covid-19 patients. The hospital was missing mandatory Fire Protection Systems on-site despite renewing its fire license the month before.

BlazeMaster's® CPVC Fire Protection Systems are the perfect solution to this challenge and provide excellent first-line defense during a fire. They are lightweight, take up less space, and are easier to maintain than steel Fire Protection Systems, making them especially practical for builders who want to save costs. In addition, installing the BlazeMaster® fire protection system is easy, noise-less, and weld-free, which is necessary for places like hospitals and busy residential high rises.

BlazeMaster® Reduces Maintenance Hassle and Provides Cost Saving

Experts agree that damage in case of a fire can be significantly reduced if fire safety systems like sprinklers are present and functioning. In November 2021, post-fire in an Ahmednagar hospital, a fire official noted that the fire could have been extinguished quicker if sprinklers had been installed. Despite this, cost-saving leads builders not to install Fire Protection Systems when it comes to maintenance. In the case of older buildings, the challenge of retrofitting Fire Protection Systems makes this even worse, and builders opt to work with older, ineffective fire safety equipment than installing newer, more effective technology. The older a construction, the more prone it is to fire incidents due to ageing electrical components, ineffectively managed facilities, and rusting pipes. BlazeMaster® CPVC pipes are not inclined to corrosion or scaling over a 50-year lifecycle, making them cost-effective in the long run. The One Step Solvent welding process also greatly reduces leakage at joints, making maintenance a breeze over the years. Installation is quick, involves minimum disruption, and requires less labour, further reducing costs.

BlazeMaster® Fire Protection Systems are the Long Term Solution

The critical importance of affordable, high functioning, and low-maintenance Fire Protection Systems cannot be underscored enough. BlazeMaster® has been committed to saving lives while providing superior performance for decades, with BlazeMaster® CPVC pipes helping specifiers and contractors meet regulations and extract savings on short- and long-term costs.