Surat (Gujarat) Fire Incident 2019 – Case Study and Learnings

Incident Brief Detail of surat Fire incident

On 24 May 2019, a fire occurred at a coaching center (commercial complex) in Sarthana area of Surat in the Gujarat state of India Twenty-two students died and others were injured in an academic coaching center Owner of the Institute, Builder and two officials from Gujarat Fire Safety Department (Fire service Gujarat) were arrested.

How the fire started (Surat Fire Incident)

• Fire Started with Short Circuit at Ground Floor.
• Then Fire Spread to other floors and Coaching Centre which was at Terrace!

List of Lapses and Learnings (Surat fire Incident)

Lapses in surat fire incident	Learning’s
The spread of Fire from Ground Floor to Terrace	Lack of Passive Fire Protection. Passive Fire Protection will stop the spread of fire and smoke.
Flammable materials are hugely used like Flushes and Tires as the seat	Interior coatings, internal walls, etc are spreading the fire very fast. Fire Load Must be calculated and checked on regular intervals
Fire Tender was 45 minutes away and Hydraulic ladder reached in 45 minutes	At least 2 hours of fire fighting capacity must be available with every commercial and industrial client.
Ceiling Height was just 5 feet.	National Building Code 2016 must be followed for fire safety compliance.
16 students died due to asphyxiation (Smoke)	Smoke is more dangerous than fire. Smoke Extraction System, Windows and Maintaining Air Changes per Hour is critical
Makeshift Dome was the build on the terrace where the actual tragedy happened	Structure, Wall, Floor, and Roof shall be as per National Building Code-2016 which guides on fire rating of each.
Short Circuit happened onAir Conditioner Circuit	Continuous running loads will have a fire hazard. Thermography and electrical audits will help the client to improve every time.
3 died as they jumped off the terrace of the building.	Inadequate exit, staircase could have been the reason. Based on each floor occupant load, travel distance, number of exits must be calculated in a scientific manner rather then having one or two staircases.
No Safety Equipment in the building	The requirement of Safety Equipment and Training & Awareness on how to use might have been saved many lives.
Heavy traffic and people taking videos at the incident site	If not able to extend support, others should not hamper the rescue team.
2 Floors were built without permission	Adherence to statutory will not only safe clients from legal battle but it is for Personnel and Property Safety. In the end, it has business/commercial benefits.
There was no audit conducted for building.	All high rise buildings and industrial complexes must conduct the third-party audit every two years.
Wooden Staircase used.	Choice of the material of construction and its thickness matters.
Another Staircase was locked	Maintaining the equipment/facility “ready to use” is very critical which over a period of time clients ignore.
The illegal structure was regularized by the authorities by accepting the impact fee	Having NOC or getting the permission to operate does not mean Premises is Safe or fool-proof.
Officials concerned did not conduct a physical inspection of the building before approving the proposal of the builder.	There are loopholes in the system and lack of safety awareness among official sometime
Client declaration was false and Engineer Approval was wrong	In haste of getting approval, deviations and false reporting will be costly to the client and it will be an issue of integrity for concern stakeholders who support the client on wrong grounds.
A couple of months back similar incident happens in the same area in tuition center where two people died	Learning from a previous or similar incident is very important to improve the safety standards of each premise.
Fire Tender did not bring the safety net which could have saved a few more lives	The emergency Team must equip with the right equipment, items, and tools. Based on the incident it shall be mobilized.
Mr. Ketan Jorawadia, 23 old living near the incident site saved at least 10 lives	By keeping self-safety in mind, to the extent possible support shall be extended which bring life long impacting result

Surat (Gujarat) Fire Case Study Credit:- Efficaz consulting & solutions

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