PR No – 80
2nd May, 2024
New Delhi
PHDCCI Hosts Safety and Fire Summit focused on strengthening Fire and Safety Measures
PHDCCI organized the Safety & Fire Summit today at PHD House, New Delhi. During the event while discussing about the recent bomb scare at Delhi schools, Shri Umesh Sharma, Assistant Director General, Civil Defence (Communication), Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India emphasized the need to check the safety standards of schools and ensure that all schools must have SOPs. He also stressed the importance of educating and engaging with children on this pertinent issue.
Mr. Sharma added that while creating a task force and including safety in the curriculum are important, we often forget about the concept of civil defense, as safety and security are not only the government’s responsibility but also that of individuals. He emphasized the need to discuss the basic principles of risk assessment and their aspects, as they are what will save us in the future. Therefore, it is the responsibility of people to synergize the efforts of these first responders.
He also highlighted the importance of quantifying and checking the quality of safety measures. Mr. Sharma further appreciated PHDCCI and mentioned that through such forums, various response mechanisms for different disasters can be discussed and suggested that an official from the Civil defense can be added to the PHDCCI task force to provide training in industry.
Shri Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Services, MHA, Govt. of India, stated that in Delhi, there are 66 fire stations and a good number of fire personnel. He emphasized the importance of maintenance of Fire & Safety measures, highlighting that once the NOC is obtained, people tend to become negligent, and urged on behavioural changes in this regard.
He mentioned that Delhi is divided into two parts, one is approved by the Fire and Safety Department and the other not approved which is prone to such incidents and this is where most of Delhi’s population resides. He pointed out that in the last 15 years, very few causalities have occurred in buildings approved by the fire department and further stressed the need for greater responsibility and awareness regarding fire safety.
Shri Devendra Gill, Executive Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation discussed fire safety in education, highlighting that the response mechanism differs, for example, in the case of earthquakes and fire incidents. He further emphasized that as members of society, we must be vigilant about our rights as well as safety and urged PHDCCI to help further in incorporating these safety standards.
Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, Executive Director, PHDCCI while speaking at the event, emphasized that fire and safety are often neglected and usually come last in decision-making, despite being critical and essential.
He emphasized the importance of sensitivity to this issue and urged everyone not to compromise on quality as improving critical infrastructure is vital, and it is the collective duty of all of us. He also highlighted the importance of fire and safety audits and encouraged attendees to send suggestions, which the chamber will further publicize and send to concerned government officials. He stressed that fire and safety education should be included in the curriculum right from nursery school. He concluded by asking everyone to pledge to prioritize fire and safety.
Dr. Mehta further added, PHDCCI is directly involved in this issue and informed that the event serves as a precursor to PHDCCI’s upcoming event, the Uttar Pradesh Fire Safety Expo & Conference, scheduled to be held on 24th & 25th, July 2024, at the Greater Noida Expo Centre.
Shri S P Garg, Former Executive Director, GAIL, while providing an industry perspective, mentioned that many industries are associated with the risk of hazards. He pointed out that more than 90% of MSMEs are micro industries. While large industries have structured safety manual systems, these are often missing in small units.
Shri Garg discussed the 13 Acts related to safety rules with a special emphasis on Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code of 2020. He informed that despite these rules, a large number of incidents still occur, leading to loss of lives and impacting the country’s economy.
He further emphasized that handling these issues requires consistent efforts and allocation of resources. Further, he suggested a few steps like, implementing the right safety policy, developing a robust safety management system, establishing proper SOPs and lastly, developing a robust safety performance review process.
Prof. Geetam Tiwari, IIT Delhi discussed that safety is globally understood as a science, constituting a scientific endeavor. She highlighted the complexity of the phenomenon, involving multiple stakeholders and often conflicting requirements. Prof. Tiwari stressed the importance of understanding each component in detail to effectively deal with it, as the vocabulary of every disaster is different. She emphasized the co-designing and co-production of knowledge by engaging with all stakeholders to systematically understand and address safety concerns. The ultimate vision should be to eliminate deaths due to such incidents.
Dr. Jatinder Singh, ASG, PHDCCI moderated the keynote session and stressed on creating more such engagements in the domain of safety and fire awareness.
The Event was sponsored by Johnson Controls and Simplex. SAMA was the co-partners. The Summit was supported by PHDCCI annual sponsors, DLF Ltd; Jindal Steel & Power; KLJ Group; Multani Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Marble City; MMG Group; Radico Khaitan Ltd; Uflex Ltd; Vestige; Eazy ERP Technologies; JK Tyre & Industries Ltd; Sagar Group of Industries; Superior Industries Limited; Samsung India Electronics; Oswal Greentech; Apeejay Stya Group; Blossom Kochhar Beauty Products Pvt Ltd; DCM Shriram; R E Rogers; Trident Group; Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd; Bhagwati Plastic and Pipes Industries; Central Coalfields Ltd; DD Pharmaceutical Ltd.; Hindware Sanitary; Jindal Steel; Modern Automobiles; P S BEDI & Co.
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Warm Regards,
Media Division
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry