Residents of the city lauded the Authority’s decision and said that regular fire audits of buildings were imperative.
Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has ordered a fire audit for all commercial and residential multistorey buildings in the city. The decision was taken by Prabhat Kumar, chairman of GDA, at a board meeting on Monday. Speaking to City Spidey, residents of the city lauded the Authority’s decision and said that regular fire audits of buildings were imperative.
Explaining the importance of fire audits, officials of the Ghaziabad fire department said that in simple terms, annual fire audits were fitness inspections of firefighting systems in buildings. “Bodies such as RWAs and AOAs should voluntarily approach the fire department or other private agencies and get their audit done. An NOC is issued after rectifying the problems found during the audit, which is followed by a safety certificate,” said Somdath Sonkar, FSO of Vaishali fire station.
Although residents admired the Authority’s decision, they maintained that GDA let flat owners take possession in incomplete buildings that did not have requisite fire safety equipment. “We might expect results if the matter is properly investigated and then implemented. Otherwise, it is just drama and we have seen such decisions earlier but to little effect,” said Sanjay Kumar Jha, a resident of a high-rise in Crossings Republik, a Ghaziabad township that, after several years, still awaits its own fire station.
