The scrutiny of fire safety arrangements of coaching institutes and educational complexes across the country has intensified. In this sequence, the Fire Safety Department has once again cast an eye on Patna’s famous coaching institute Khan Global Studies. After many shortcomings to fire safety were revealed in the recent inspection, the department has again issued a notice to the institute and directed it to repair all the arrangements within 10 days.

The fire department has made it clear that if the safety standards are not followed within the stipulated time limit, strict action can be taken against the institute.

The investigation team arrived for the second time in 15 days

For the second time within the last 15 days, the fire department team reached Khan Global Studies Coaching Center located on Boring Road, Patna for investigation. Earlier, during the inspection conducted on June 7, many serious flaws had come to light. At that time, the department had instructed the institute management to immediately repair the sprinkler system, fire detector, emergency stairs and other safety equipment. In the re-inspection conducted on Tuesday, the officials found that some improvement works have been started, but most of the systems are still not as per the standards.

Deficiencies found in emergency exit and fire system

During the inspection, the officials checked the emergency exits, fire alarm system, sprinklers and safety equipment in detail. Investigation found that many systems are still incomplete and some equipment is not fully functional.

According to the fire department, in case of any emergency, it is necessary to have adequate evacuation routes to safely evacuate a large number of students. But the entry and exit arrangements in the institute were still not found satisfactory. Apart from this, technical flaws have also been found in the fire alarm system, which need to be rectified immediately.

Question on fire stairs and detector system

Fire officer Indrajit Kumar said that the construction of fire staircase (emergency staircase) in the coaching institute has not been completed yet. At the same time, the work of making sprinkler and fire detector systems completely automatic is also incomplete.

Although a pump house has been arranged by the institute, the department says that it is not adequate as per the current standards. Officials believe that in such a big coaching centre, it is necessary for the security systems to be completely modern and automated.

Safety of students became the biggest concern

Thousands of students come to coaching institutes every day for studies. In such a situation, during any emergency, safe evacuation and quick relief arrangements become very important. In recent months, incidents of fire in coaching centers and commercial buildings in various cities of the country have made the administration more alert. After the recent fire in Lucknow, safety audit campaign is being conducted in many states.

Experts say that ignoring fire safety standards can lead to any major accident. Therefore, institutions will have to focus on real security measures instead of just completing formalities.

There will be review again after 10 days

The fire department has finally given 10 days time to Khan Global Studies to rectify all the shortcomings. Officials have warned that if safety standards are not found followed in the next inspection, strict action will be taken as per the rules.

Senior officials of the fire department have also indicated that there will be no compromise on the safety of the students. Now everyone’s eyes are on whether the institute is able to remove all the security deficiencies within the stipulated time limit or not.