Come July, the Fire and Rescue Services Department will review the firefighting steps being initiated by traders after a major fire broke out on Cloth Bazar Road at Broadway on May 27.
The inspections will be done to assess the firefighting measures adopted by traders based on the recommendations made at a meeting convened by the District Police chief (Kochi city) two days after the incident. Merchants were given one-month time to implement the recommendations.
The police had asked traders to make electrical systems and wirings of malls, theatres, shops, and other establishments operating in the city foolproof.
The electric regulating system and wirings should be inspected urgently and flaws, if any, should be rectified by introducing safeguards like Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB). All shops and establishments have been asked to put in place fire alarm systems besides setting up fire hydrant systems, it said.
Action will be taken against the illegal practice of converting upper floors and terraces into storerooms.
The Fire Department had warned on several occasions that this had rendered ineffective the pumping of water using fire tenders in the event of fire breakouts. The safety audits had found that a section of the traders had turned staircases into de facto storage spaces. This had hindered the safe evacuation of people stranded on the upper floors during fire accidents.
Fire Department officials said that all shops would have to comply with the directive issued.