BIBHAS GUHA, divisional officer (B), West Bengal Fire Services, met readers of The Telegraph in his office on Wednesday to answer their queries. Participants included Sandip Banerjee, Ajay Ghosh, Jitendranath Das, Subir Kar, Rajat Dasgupta, Shibabrata Majumdar, Rathin Das and Kamalendu Banerjee

Kamalendu Banerjee: How do you fight a fire in a congested area?

Easy access to water is imperative for fighting a fire anywhere. To prevent blazes, we have made it mandatory for high-risk and highrise (over 14.5 m tall) buildings to have fire licences. Failure to obtain the licence is a non-bailable offence with a provision for fine of Rs 50,000 or three years? imprisonment. Last year, FIRs were lodged against more than 400 building-owners without fire licences.

Kamalendu Banerjee: Can you seal a highrise or high-risk building without a fire licence?

Yes. We can seal such buildings with the help of police. In other states, the fire brigade is a wing of the police and can directly seal buildings without a fire licence.

Jitendranath Das: Why don?t the bells on fire tenders ring as loudly as before?

The bells had developed cracks after prolonged use and had to be soldered. The soldering affected the sound. We have now started installing sirens in the tenders. The problem with sirens is that they do not work when they are wet.

Rajat Dasgupta: Almost every fire is attributed to a short circuit. In some cases, forensic experts are called in to ascertain the cause of the blaze, but their findings are never made public. How many fires are actually caused by short circuit?

There is no doubt that short circuit is a major cause of fire. But it is not possible for me to tell you anything about the findings of the forensic department, since it does not report to us.

Sandip Banerjee: How can we minimise the probability of household fires?

In case of electrical fire, the first thing you should do is to cut off the power supply. If the switch itself is not in a safe position, turn off the main supply. The switches should be installed outside the kitchen to minimise the chance of an electrical spark causing a fire. Besides, a kitchen should be well-ventilated to prevent a blaze due to gas leak. Finally, before you leave for a holiday, turn off the main switch.

Rajat Dasgupta: Is there a reason behind most office and market fires occurring at night or on holidays?

Of course. It takes time for a short circuit to take the shape of a fire. During working hours, the short-circuit fires are put out immediately. At night and on holidays, there?s no one to prevent small fires from turning into an inferno.

Kamalendu Banerjee: What are the most vulnerable areas in the city in respect of fire?

Old China Bazar Street, College Street, Jackson Lane, Bagmari Road, Gurudas Datta Garden Lane, Maniktala, Baithakkhana Bazaar and Keshub Sen Street are a few of the areas most vulnerable to fire.

Sandip Banerjee: After a devastating fire in a school in South India, fire minister Pratim Chatterjee had announced that the fire brigade would inspect the safety arrangements in schools. What progress has been made in that respect?

A number of schools have obtained no-objection certificates from us. Besides, during the fire prevention week (April 14-20), we had organised a demonstration in Salt Lake in which students from 20 schools had participated. The demonstration was followed by a question-answer session.

At the Institute of Fire Service, Behala, we have started a six-month refresher training course for teachers. Besides, we have decided to include fire prevention basics in Class V textbooks.

Concluded