‘Andheri school violated fire safety norms, has no OC’: Mumbai Fire Brigade

A recent inspection by the fire department revealed that the school has no fire safety equipment even in the science laboratory.

A private school in Andheri has come under the scanner of authorities for allegedly violating the Maharashtra Fire Safety Act and for operating without an Occupancy Certificate (OC). After the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) issued notices to Cambridge International School in Andheri (East) in June, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cut the school’s power and water supply at regular intervals.

A private school in Andheri has come under the scanner of authorities for allegedly violating the Maharashtra Fire Safety Act and for operating without an Occupancy Certificate (OC). (Hindustan Times)

HT tried to contact the school authorities, but they were unavailable for a comment. While school principal Nalini Nair did not respond to calls or messages, the school officials did not reply to an email query either.

A recent inspection by the fire department revealed that the school has no fire safety equipment even in the science laboratory. According to the MFB, the school management is operating without an OC, which is required to certify if the building is safe to be occupied.

“The school doesn’t have an OC. So the structure itself is not regularised. We have also found several issues of non-compliance of fire safety norms, such as the absence of a wide escape route, storage of gas cylinders in the premises and enclosure of open spaces – all of which pose a great threat to the occupants. The school has to first regularise its structure and would then have to comply with the fire safety norms, after which we will conduct an inspection. Only then will we give a clearance to operate the school,” said Prabhat Rahangdale, chief fire officer, MFB.

The students’ parents said they were not informed about the developments. For the second time in two weeks, the school had declared a “holiday.” On Thursday evening, parents of the state board students were informed through an SMS that the school will remain closed on Friday. “We got to know about the holiday from the parents of the SSC board students. The holiday seemed abrupt, as there was no explanation on why the school would be closed,” said the parent of an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) student.

Another parent said that on Thursday afternoon, the school’s power supply was cut. “When we asked the school about the holidays and the frequent power cuts, the authorities assured us that the management will handle the issue,” said the parent.

Local corporator Abhijit Samant, from the BJP, said the action should have been taken before the academic year. He said, “The action sends across a good message. But if it would have been taken before the school reopened, it wouldn’t have interfered with the students’ studies.”