Prayagraj: The fire department has issued notices to 261 private coaching institutes, educational institutions, hotels, guest houses and hospitals for violating fire safety norms during an ongoing inspection drive that began on June 23.As per officials, the drive is aimed at ensuring compliance with fire safety standards and preventing fire-related incidents in public buildings. Teams are inspecting around 20 establishments daily, with deficiencies being detected in nearly half of them.According to the fire department, notices are being issued to an average of 10 to 12 establishments daily for inadequate fire safety arrangements, lack of safe emergency exits and other violations. All institutions have been directed to rectify the shortcomings within 15 days to one month, depending on the nature of the deficiencies.The CFO CM Sharma has warned that commercial establishments failing to comply within the stipulated period would face action under the Fire Safety Act. The department is closely monitoring compliance and will conduct follow-up inspections after the deadline expires.As part of the corrective measures, operators have been instructed to provide dedicated fire exits by constructing additional staircases and gates, maintaining sufficient open space around buildings and installing all mandatory fire-fighting equipment.The department has also prescribed minimum fire safety infrastructure for multi-storey buildings. Institutions have been directed to install two to three fire extinguishers on the ground floor and at least four to five on upper floors. Other mandatory provisions include a 5,000-litre overhead water tank, a 450-horsepower fire pump, hose reels and an alarm system.Officials said the drive will continue in the coming weeks.
