Ranchi: Most commercial buildings in the state capital - including those that have residential quarters as well - have blatant disregard for fire safety, but what is more concerning is that the authorities seldom crack down on such life-threatening violations except for occasional and perfunctory drives.

On Monday evening, a major fire broke out at Gopal Complex, a popular commercial-cum-residential building near Ranchi University on Kutchery Road. Over 40 people were trapped on the uppermost floors of the G+7 building and it took fire fighters over four hours to rescue them while seven fire tenders took as long to control the blaze.

While the cause is yet to be officially known, unconfirmed sources said the fire was triggered by ongoing welding work at a garments store on the first floor. The garments store and its godown were completely gutted.

Basic fire safety gear were conspicuous by their absence at Gopal Complex, which is not a lone offender.

This correspondent on Tuesday visited four commercial establishments in Lalpur that witness decent footfall every day and discovered that these were just tinderboxes waiting to go up in flames.

The G+7 Hari Om Tower on Circular Road sees 5,000 visitors every day, most of them students visiting the dozen-odd coaching institutes at the complex. There are also shoppers of electronic goods and garments, among others.

The tower has two gates, which can assist evacuation in case of a mishap. Each floor also sported at least four fire extinguishers, but most had crossed their expiry dates. And, no one was able to tell if the frayed hose pipes would work if need be.

Ajay Singh, president of Hari Om Tower Association, claimed the fire extinguishers were routinely replaced. "We also have a giant overhead water tank," he said.

At Amravati Complex in Lalpur, the situation was no different. The establishment houses a private bank, two restaurants and jewellery, garments and electronic stores. The daily average footfall is 3,500. Among the four floors, fire extinguishers were seen near elevators on two floors.

"Earlier, there used to be sand buckets and more fire extinguishers. Don't know where have they gone," said an electronics store employee who has been working here for seven years.

A stone's throw from Lalpur thana, G+4 Anand Complex is address for a diagnostic centre, the Punjab National Bank, Domino's Pizza, besides coaching centres and offices.

On the first floor, from where the bank operates, fire cylinders were found to have expired. The staircase was also flanked by open power sockets. The third floor though had two fire extinguishers and a few sand buckets.

Bang opposite Lalpur police station stands the G+6 Narsaria Tower, a commercial-cum-residential building. Fire safety was in a shambles here too, with the water pipes damaged beyond use on both first and second floors.

Bullu Narsaria, the proprietor of Narsaria Tower, conceded gaps in fire safety and promised to plug them at the earliest.

State fire officer R.K. Thakur didn't sound surprised at all. "The problem is most people think fire safety is just our job. In case of a fire, they will just dial for help. This mindset has to change. Also, the civic body (Ranchi Municipal Corporation) or the district administration should initiate regular fire inspection. Fire safety certificates must be made mandatory for all buildings with yearly renewal," he said.

Should commercial licence of an unsafe building be revoked? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com