Will help firemen in quick evacuation, save assets too

MUMBAI, July 22 (The CONNECT) – In a country first, Maharashtra has made it mandatory to provide for fire evacuation lifts for buildings above 70-meter high.

In a landmark Circular issued by Maharashtra State's Energy Department in conjunction with the Municipal Corporation and the Fire Department has made the condition effective from January 2018.

This is seen as the solution to mounting emergencies during fire-fighting and provide a safe evacuation mechanism for people and assist firefighting staff to save lives and assets.

As part of the evacuation solutions, many Developers of High - Rise Buildings in the cities like Mumbai have installed or are currently opting to install non-standardized or low graded Fire Evacuation solutions and Lifts. However, these Non-standard Fire Solutions/ Evacuation Lifts may not provide right security and safety to people in the event of a fire due to compromise in quality by the builders and regular passenger lift makers.

In contrast, a Fire Evacuation Lift is a far more secure and safer option and are developed by specialized teams of a Fire Evacuation Lift Manufacturer. It protects and enable fire-fighters to reach higher floors faster and evacuate a group of 10-18 people of all ages and abilities including pets at one given time and in less than three minutes (i.e. almost 100 people in 30 minutes approximately).

It also enables the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to reach any floor within a minute to fight fire, save lives and assets and thus reduce losses.

As per the new circular, henceforth, it is mandatory to obtain the permission for erection and license for operation of fire evacuation lifts in Maharashtra.