Carlton Towers tragedy: Is your building or business, fire-safety ready?

By Anuksha Dey

Based on suggestions by citizens, the state government declared February 23 as a Fire Safety & Awareness Day. On this day, the fire department conducts a fire safety workshop every year to remember the fire tragedy that engulfed Carlton Towers on Old Airport Road in the city 11 years ago. This year was no different as the department organised such camps across Karnataka, including Bengaluru. In 2010, the abject lack of fire safety measures led to the Carlton Towers tragedy that killed nine residents. 

Awareness programs across Karnataka

In Bengaluru, the fire safety department held a fire safety demonstration at More mall in Basavanagudi. The employees took part in a mock drill and the department demonstrated the right way to extinguish a fire. The session was to prepare the staff for any future mishaps.

In Hubballi, an awareness program was conducted at Rotary Public School in Navanagar. Demonstrations were also conducted at Mahesh P U college, and Akshay Park. Fire safety programs were also conducted across the Dakshina Kannada district as well as Chikkaballapura district.

Day of fire safety and awareness

The Karnataka government declared 23rd February as the day of fire safety and awareness on the suggestion of Beyond Carlton, a citizen-led fire safety organisation formed after the Carlton Towers tragedy. The entity comprises people who lost their near and dear ones to the incident. The day is meant to pay tribute to the victims of the tragedy and also forewarn others. Therefore, this day has also come to symbolise a sense of commitment by the government and the fire safety department to make sure such a tragedy never occurs again.

The Day of Fire Safety and Awareness is commemmorated by educating the public across the state. In addition to the events conducted by the fire department, Beyond Carlton has been hosting a series of events this month to remind Bengaluru of the importance of fire safety precautions. The outfit conducted a creative writing competition at Frank Anthony School on 3rd February and launched the social media campaign #Iamfirechamp to reach out to a wider audience. 

On Saturday, the group paid tribute to the victims of the tragedy through a cultural event at The National Gallery of Modern Arts in Bengaluru. The event brought together photographer Anantha Subramanyam, musician Raghu Dixit, and composer Dr Prakash Sontakke who used their art to raise awareness about fire safety. The event also included a speech by fire fighter Summit Khanna who spoke on how to prevent another Carlton tragedy.

Disaster waiting to happen?

If you run a school or any commercial establishment, you could contact the fire department to train your staff and students during any fire mishaps. There are many private institutions conducting such courses as well. To be prepared is half the victory during such emergencies. Your time starts now. Make your buildings fire-proof and educate your staff members on fire safety measures. Better late than never.