Hoteliers seek relaxation in fire norms, cite space, money crunch

Owners of hotels constructed decades ago in Kasauli and other tourist places are demanding simplification of fire safety norms owing to limitations in implementing the conditions laid down in the National Building Code (NCB)-2016.

All tourism units are supposed to renew their no-objection certificates (NOC) after two years from the Fire Department where the application of norms is scrutinised before renewal. “Since the application has to be filed online, lack of adherence to norms is stalling their renewal, creating problems for the tourism industry,” elaborated a hotelier in Kasauli.

To implement fire-safety norms in old hotel buildings, several infrastructural modifications are required to be carried out which require permissions from various departments. The fire safety norms are regulated by the National Building Code 2016 (NBC 2016).

This code outlines comprehensive fire safety regulations for buildings for prevention, detection, suppression and evacuation. Key aspects of these regulations include compartmentalising where the buildings are divided into fire compartments to limit the spread of fire and smoke. Besides this, the buildings are supposed to have clear emergency exits where the assembly points are clearly marked and accessible. The NBC 2016 also emphasises the importance of fire safety audits and training programmes to ensure apt safety arrangements in a building.

The Kasauli Planning Area, comprising Kasauli and its precincts, house at least 25 per cent hotels, bed and breakfast units and home stays while the others are resorts.

Besides these, these also require setting up a large water tank, automatic fire safety alarm and automatic water sprinkler system. Sound-based smoke-detection devices of specific decibels to alert occupants is another key requirement.

Old buildings have limited scope to bring about requisite modifications, thus creating problems in abiding by the NCB 2016. Rocky Chimni, vice-president, Kasauli Residents and Hoteliers Association, informed that hotels face typical problems in adhering to fire-safety norms than resorts which are spread out and have multiple exits. The hotels — on the other hand — have limited scope to create more exits due to multi-storey buildings.

“It also requires a sizeable expenditure to fulfil norms like sound-emitting smoke detectors which can alert a sleeping guest about a fire. Bed and breakfast units as well as home stays which have fewer rooms packed in a single building are facing specific issues in meeting the requisite norms as they involve a sizeable expenditure too,” explained Chimni.

Himachal Tribune