TV Sets On Fire : How Safe Is Their Workplace? - Article

How safe is their workplace?

From the fires in the fictitious studios depicted in Om Shanti Om to the sets of Kapil Sharma's Comedy Nights with Kapil in 2013, Devon Ke Dev Mahadev, Lotus Park Building and now the Klick Nixon studios of Ekta Kapoor, flames seem to have a history of wrecking havoc for many studios, and with them to all stakeholders attached to these studios. This recurrence is disturbing. However, the silver lining on the clouds (pun unintended) is that nobody was seriously hurt.

Having said that, it is also evident that for whatever reasons unknown to us, these building(s) did not have sufficient fire safety measures to prevent the fire. Most of us work, study or live in buildings fitted with fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems, fire alarms connected to the nearest fire department and so on. But, how safe is the studio for everyone who puts in many hours to bring us our favourite shows?

How does a fire happen?

Whether it's a small fire in a house or a fire that destroys an entire studio in a matter of minutes, the basic principle behind a fire is still the same: if there's heat or an ignition source, fuel that can catch fire and enough oxygen, and if these elements can combine together in the right mixture, a fire can take place anywhere. In that same principle, if any one of these elements can be removed in a fire the fire can be extinguished. This is called a fire triangle. A fire tetrahedron brings in the added element of chemical chain reactions.

Once a fire has started, unless one of these elements are removed from the fire, exothermic chemical chain reactions resulting from the fire will enable it to continue to rage on. This is why commercial buildings have fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire wardens, routine fire drills etc. So that in case of a fire, the building and the operation is adequately prepared to prevent the fire from causing damage. Mainstream fire safety engineering organisations have even developed waterless fire suppression systems that can prevent fires without causing damage to the equipment such as servers or archives.

Need for Fire Safety in a Studio

From the cans of hair spray in a green room to the paints and fabrics on the sets, a studio is quite literally a house full of fuel to a fire' which makes it that much more important for these institutions to make fire safety a top priority. Basic expectations in a commercial building such as sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, smoke detectors etc. should be present at a studio as well.

Being a sustainability practitioner by profession, part of my actual job is to ensure the safety of the workplace. While auditing buildings for fire safety over the last several years, I have seen many non-conformities in commercial buildings as well. I've seen fire exits being used to store boxes of supplies; I have seen rooms where the fire extinguishers were hidden behind equipment that had been moved to make room for other things; I have also seen fire extinguishers nicely displayed while the extinguishers had not been serviced for years; there have been buildings with faulty sprinkler systems which were only caught in drills and routine maintenance checks.

This list is endless. Our fervent hope is that the management responsible for overseeing the operations at studios learn from the mistakes of others and take necessary steps to increase fire safety and emergency preparedness in their properties and let the popularity of their shows be the only things on fire.

Author : Mravina

Source - Fuzion