Extinguisher shortage in Ahmedabad

The fire at Takshshila Arcade in Surat that claimed the lives of 22 students has triggered a spurt in sales of fire extinguishers, with agencies and retailers making a quick buck from scared tuition class owners, shopkeepers and businessmen. With the noose tightening around tuition classes and other private educational institutes, small traders and businessmen are desperately trying to install fire safety equipment at their facilities. This is to ensure that the fire department issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) that will allow them to run their businesses smoothly.

The rising demand for firefighting equipment has led to a shortage of fire extinguishers in Ahmedabad. Himanshu Patel, managing director of Complete Fire Design Solutions accepted that the price of fire extinguishers in the city has shot up.

“There are multiple manufacturers and buyers are paying around Rs 200 more for an ABC type 4-kg fire extinguisher, which starts at Rs 900. With people taking fire safety seriously, the demand has risen, and we are facing a shortage of fire extinguishers at the moment, which will last till the next week,” Patel said.

“We have run out of fire extinguishers and I have orders for over 50 extinguishers pending. The new stock will arrive not before Monday, but people are trying to procure it from wherever they get it,” said Lalit Jain, who owns Jain Instruments in Kankaria.

The problem in Surat is graver, with prices of extinguishers rising by 60 to 70 per cent. A trader of fire equipment on condition of anonymity said that the cost of a 4-kg fire extinguisher has increased by Rs 600-700 since Friday when the huge blaze took place.

Accepting that there is no regulation on the price of fire extinguishers sold in the market, Basant Pareek, chief fire officer at Surat Fire & Emergency Services (SFES), said, “It has come to our notice that inferior quality fire extinguishers are being sold at high prices in black market. To ensure that people do not acquire substandard equipment, we are preparing a list of fire extinguishers that are safe to buy and ISI marked. We will publish the list.”

After the fire department sealed 1,500 shops and 40 commercial complexes for lack of fire safety equipment on Sunday and Monday in Surat, businessmen across the city have made a rush to purchase fire equipment that has led to increase in prices, Pareek said.

The CFO clarified that the 4-kg fire extinguishers sold at Rs 2,000 or below have just 50 per cent powder in it. “A 4-kg ABC fire extinguisher with 90 per cent monoammonium phosphate powder costs around Rs 3,000.”

After Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) shut down all tuition classes to recheck fire safety norms, shopkeepers have been living in fear of their shops getting sealed. Result: Those selling fire safety equipment are cashing in on the panic and selling inferior quality products at an exorbitant price. Mirror found that shop owners in Surat have taken matters in their own hands and bought firefighting equipment, while the SMC has for the moment stalled the process of issuing fire NOC. Fearing that their shops may be sealed during SMC’s compliance drive, the shopkeepers are buying fire equipment at a higher price with little knowledge of its quality or usability.

Kaushal Batham, owner of Ashapura Tea Centre on BRTS Road said, “I opened the shop four months ago, but purchased a fire extinguisher on Friday after fire broke out at Takshshila Arcade. However, I was charged Rs 1,850 for a 4-kg fire extinguisher, while shopkeepers around me purchased them at Rs 1,200. I feel robbed.”