Fire Exit Audit Needed for Old High-Rise Apartments

The recent Lucknow inferno is a wake-up call for Sri Lanka. It has exposed how vulnerable our old high-rise apartment blocks are to fire disasters. 

Most of these buildings were built decades ago, before modern fire safety codes were enforced.

We urgently need mandatory fire exit audits for ALL old high-rise residential buildings across the country. This cannot wait.

Key points every audit must check:  

1. Functioning fire alarms, sprinklers, and smoke detectors on every floor. 

2. Clear, unobstructed fire exits without locking latches or keys and stairwells. 

3. No storage or parking blocking them.  

4. Working fire hydrants, hose reels, and extinguishers with valid expiry dates.  

5. Electrical wiring condition and overload protection to prevent short circuits.  

6. Doors which could be opened manually without computerised locks (face recognition).

Residents have a duty too. They must check their own floors, report faulty alarms, blocked exits, or expired extinguishers immediately. Do not ignore small flaws. Report them to the local authority that issued the building NOC and directly to the Fire Department if no action is taken by managements of apartments.

 Let the Lucknow tragedy be the last. Act now before we lose more lives.

Sumith de Silva