How Safe Are The Places Our Children Visit? We Find Out

We take them to play areas, play schools, activity classes and other places that we hardly wonder if these have a proper fire safety procedure in place. According to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006 here are the mandatories that every building should house:The water storage and pump capacity are specified in this Act that varies based on the building size and the number of houses in each of them. A report from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)’s guidelines for private play schools clearly mentions the need for proper fire safety measures in the school. The report insists on the need for a complete safety set up in the school, mandatory fire drills and for a trauma care management that knows how to handle situations in the wake of a crisis. Image source: MumbaiMirrorIn the next few weeks, Kidsstoppress will try and share safety rules that play areas, activity classes and play schools need to abide by.
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Watching the news unfold about the Kamala Mills fire tragedy got a lot of us, parents, extremely agitated. What was supposed to be a happy dinner outing for a bunch of people, turned out to be their worst nightmare. It wouldn’t be out of place in the wake of such events to actually question the safety guidelines of these buildings. Just how safe are the buildings we visit. And an even scarier question for parents, how safe are the places our kids visit? 
 
But this has left me worried and wondering. Every parent like me, sends their kids, either alone or with help to birthday parties at locations we haven’t been before. We take them to play areas, play schools, activity classes and other places that we hardly wonder if these have a proper fire safety procedure in place. Are they built within the right regulation and safety norms?
Most places our kids frequent are so small and crowded that a fire engine can hardly enter the compound and the staircases are very narrow that they can hardly fit in two people at a time. It’s time we as parents gave this some thought.
 
According to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006 here are the mandatories that every building should house:
  • The water storage and pump capacity are specified in this Act that varies based on the building size and the number of houses in each of them.
  • Every apartment should get a licensed agency to verify the prevention and fire safety measures set up in the building and a certificate is then issued.
  • Basic firefighting equipments like a fire extinguisher, a hose reel, an automatic sprinkler and a tank storing adequate water to douse a fire are mandatory as per the new law.
 All the guidelines look great on paper. But are the buildings following them properly? Is every restaurant or park or play area or a residential complex following the fire safety norms and providing the adequate precautions?
 
Think about all the places your kids frequent in a week.

Mornings begin with school and thankfully, most school buildings today are fire compliant. In fact, schools even conduct mock fire drills to ensure kids know exactly what to do in case of an emergency. Kids are taught about fire safety exits, how to properly file out of class and even the fire alarm sound they need to be familiar with. Check with your child’s school if they do all of these. A report from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)‘s guidelines for private play schools clearly mentions the need for proper fire safety measures in the school. The report insists on the need for a complete safety set up in the school, mandatory fire drills and for a trauma care management that knows how to handle situations in the wake of a crisis. 

 

After school classes are typically held at a small corner garage or shop down the road or even rented shop space in buildings. These are places where you, family members, or even your help drop the child, runs a few errands and pick them up. You aren’t present at the place and most often, these places are makeshift outfits. Think about it. Are these places compliant with fire safety norms?

Play areas are by far the scariest places in this context. Some of Mumbai’s play areas are situated in old mills where it almost impossible for a fire engine to enter let alone put out a fire. Parents usually send their children to play areas with the help. The play equipment is extremely flammable, kids don’t pay attention when they are busy playing and parents can’t even get to them through the equipment. What is the evacuation process? A popular chain mentions on their website that their centres are fire safety compliant, but a quick look at the premises shows that they don’t even have a fire extinguisher! Most play areas are popular spots for birthday parties. Think about 50 kids in one place and only help staff to take care of them. 

At home, please make sure you practice fire safety at home and even have a fire extinguisher at home in case of emergency. Also, ensure your domestic help knows what to do in case of a fire at home. A report on city planning and development mention the fire safety norms explicitly. Read more. 

At parks where we send our kids daily, we accessed a report by NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Corporation) that insisted on the mandatory norms to be followed while constructing a clean and green children’s park in the city. It insists on the use of proper signboards hat must be pasted on every equipment stating the name and the age appropriateness; no sharp edges should be left as it is and instead should be caps or plugs for the safety of children; name and number of the person responsible for first aid, etc. I am yet to see one DDA park in New Delhi, that does all the above. A report from Butterflies Child Rights on the availability of play areas in residential areas throws more light on what’s lacking in today’s scenario.
 
A recent report on the Mumbai Mirror on the state of some of the famous children’s parks in Mumbai left us worrying. From having rusted equipments to not having provisions for installation of CCTV cameras, the list of loopholes was endless. From having slides that didn’t cater to the mandatory size specifications, to having citizens loiter around the children’s area even after the stipulated times.
Image source: MumbaiMirror
 
In the next few weeks, Kidsstoppress will try and share safety rules that play areas, activity classes and play schools need to abide by. If you have leads on how we can make this a larger movement do share it in the comments below. #KSPSafetyForKidsFirst
 
 
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