Circular issued to ensure safety against fire in schools

The fire incident at AMRI Hospital, Kolkata, in which 91 people were killed, has forced the government to act against such incidents. This has led government to issue a circular in order to strengthen the fire safety arrangements in state-aided schools.

In the circular, government has directed district magistrates and the district inspectors of primary and secondary schools to start visiting every school and conduct inspections to examine whether the government guidelines for prevention of fire accidents are being followed or not.

“The schools not having the necessary fire prevention facilities as mentioned in the guidelines will be given a month’s time from the day of the inspection to rectify the deficiencies,” an official of education department told the TSI.

Those who fail to follow the instructions within the stipulated time will be issued show cause notices. "The schools can face de-recognition and closure if we find the explanation given by them unsatisfactory," added the official.

The government is planning to set up inspection teams including officials of school education department and fire services department for conducting these inspections.

"Strict implementation of various instructions concerning prevention of fire hazards in schools is of paramount concern," stated the circular by government.

The government has strictly told all districts to ensure that the fire preventive measures are followed in schools, especially those where cooked mid day meal is given to students. Such schools must ensure the proper and safe functioning of kitchen section, electrical installations and other key factors to make schools a safer place for students. The government has also agreed to give assistance to state-aided schools for development of a supportive infrastructure including the funds for installing fire extinguishers and other fire fighting apparatus in these state aided schools.