BHUBANESWAR: Over 23 years after the Orissa Fire Service Act, 1993 was enacted, the state cabinet on Thursday approved rules for implementation of the act. The state government seems to have woken up to the need for fire prevention and safety in the backdrop of a series of major fire incidents claiming several lives since past one year,"With increasing hazards of loss of life and property due to fire outbreak, the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules-2017 aim at coordinating and streamlining fire protection measures," said chief secretary A P Padhi after the meeting. The set of rules would come into effect on the date of their publication in the Odisha gazette by the home department.The rules are divided into 22 sections relating to responsibility of owners of commercial and high rise residential complexes, duties and accountability of fire service and enforcement powers, the chief secretary said. The rules refer to classification of various kinds of buildings, inspection of such buildings, making safety recommendations and issuing fire safety certificates when adequate measures are found to have been made on completion of inspection.It puts the onus of providing fire and life safety measures on the owner of the commercial and residential buildings. Violation of fire and life safety requirements can attract penal provisions including jail terms. "If it is found that absence of proper fire safety measures may cause danger to the neighborhood, the building can be sealed off and water and electricity supply will be disconnected," official sources said.It has also been made mandatory for owners of large residential and commercial complexes to appoint a fire safety supervisor. With regard to duties and responsibilities of the fire service, the rules will have elaborate modalities of equipping and training fire service personnel for effective fire-fighting and rescue operations. It will have details about the manner in which fire calls are to be responded and attended to."The fire service has been authorized to organize an auxiliary fire fighting force if necessary and requisition the services of voluntary organizations and government departments like health, works, municipality and revenue in operations," said Padhi.Implementation of the fire service law assume significance in the backdrop of a series of major fire incidents including SUM hospital fire claiming 22 lives, last year, death of five of a family of a leading hotelier in the city and destruction of a biscuit factory here.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.