61-A. Fire Protection.- (1) Processes equipment, plant, involving serious explosion and serious fire hazards- (a) All processes, storages, equipments, plants, etc. involving serious explosion and flash fire hazard shall be located in segregated buildings where the equipment shall be so arranged that on a minimum number of employees are exposed to such hazards at any one time. (b) All industrial processes involving serious fire hazard shall be located in building or work places separated from one another by wall of fire-resistant construction. (c) Equipment and plant involving serious fire or flash fire hazard shall, wherever possible be so constructed and installed that in case of fire, they can be easily isolated. (d) Ventilation ducts, pnematic conveyors and similar equipment involving a serious fire risk should be provided with flame-arresting or automatic fire extinguishing appliances, or fire resisting dampers electrically interlocked with heat sensitive/smoke detectors and the air-conditioning plant system. (e) In all work places having serious fire or flash fire hazards, passages between machines, installations or piles of material should be at least 90 cms. wide. For storage piles, the clearance between the ceil rig and the top of the pile should not be less than 2 m. (2) Access for fire fighting- (a) Building and plants shall be so laid out and roads, passageways etc, so maintained as to permit unobstructed access for fire fighting. (b) Doors and window openings shall be located in suitable positions on all external walls of the building to provide easy access to the entire area within the building for fire fighting. (3) Protection against lightening.- Protection from lightening shall be provided for- (a) building in which explosive or highly flammable substances are manufactured, used, handled or stored; (b) storage tanks containing oils, paints or other flammable liquids; (c) rains elevators; (d) buildings, tall chimneys or stacks where flammable gases, fumes dust or lint are likely to be present; (e) sub-station building and out-door transformers and switch yards. (4) Precautions against ignition.- Where there is danger of fire or explosion from accumulation of flammable or explosive substances in air- (a) All electrical apparatus shall either be excluded from the area of risk or they shall be of such construction and so installed and maintain as to prevent the danger of their being source of ignition; (b) Effective measures shall be adopted for prevention of accumulation of static charges to a dangerous extent; (c) Workers shall wear shoes without iron or steel nails or any other exposed ferrous materials which is likely to cause sparks by friction (d) Transmission belts with iron fasteners shall not be used; (e) Smoking, lightening or carrying of matches, lighters or smoking; materials shall be prohibited; (f) All other precautions, as are reasonably practicable, shall be taken to prevent initiation of ignition from all other possible sources such as spenflames, frictional sparks, overheated surfaces of machinery or plant, chemical or physical-chemical reaction and radiant heat. (5) Spontaneous ignition.- Where materials are likely to induce spontaneous ignition, care shall be taken to avoid formation of air pocket and ensure adequate ventilation. The material susceptible to spontaneous ignition should be stored in dry condition and should be in heaps of such capacity and separated by such passage which will prevent fire. The materials susceptible to ignition and stored in the open shall be at a distance not less than 10 meters away from process or storage buildings. (6) Cylinders containing compressed gas.- Cylinders containing compressed gas may only be stored in open, if they are protected against excessive variation of temperature, direct rays of sun, or continuous dampness. Such cylinders shall never by stored near highly flammable substances, are stored shall have adequate ventilation. (7) Storage of flammable liquids- (a) The quantity of flammable liquids in any work room shall be the minimum required for the process or processes carried on in such room. Flammable liquids shall be stored in suitable containers with close fitting covers; Provided that not more than 20 liters of flammable liquids having a flash point of 20°C or less shall be kept or stored in any work room. (b) Flammable liquids shall be stored in closed containers and limited quantities in well ventilated room of fire resisting construction which are isolated from the remainder of the building by fire walls and self closing fire doors. (c) Large quantities of such liquids shall be stored in isolated adequately ventilated building of fire resisting construction or in storage tanks, preferably underground and at a distance from any building as required in the petroleum Rules, 1976. (d) Effective steps shall be taken to prevent leakage of such liquids into basements, sumps or drains and to confine any escaping liquid within safe limits. (8) Accumulation of flammable dust, gas fume or vapour in air or flammable waste material on the floors- (a) Effective steps shall be taken for removal or prevention of the accumulation in the air of flammable dust, gas, fume or vapour to an extent which is likely to be dangerous. (b) No waste material of a flammable nature shall be permitted to accumulate on the floors and shall be removed at least once in a day or shift, and more often, when possible. Such materials shall be placed in suitable metal containers with covers wherever possible. (9) Fire Exits- (a) In this rule- (i) "horizontal exist" means an arrangement which allows alternative egress from a floor area to another floor at or near the same level in an adjoining building or an adjoining part of the same building with adequate separation; and (ii) "travel distance" means the distances an occupant has to travel to reach an exit. (b) An exit may be a doorway corridor, passageway to an external stairway or to a varandah or to an internal stairway segregated from the rest of building by fire resisting walls which shall provide continuous and protected means of egress to the exterior of a building or to an exterior open space. An exit may also include a horizontal exit leading to an adjoining building at the same level. (c) Lifts, escalators and revolving doors shall not be considered as exit for the purpose of this sub-rule. (d) In every room of a factory exits sufficient to permit safe escape other occupants in case of fire or other emergency shall be provided which shall be free of any obstruction. (e) The exits shall be clearly visible and suitably illuminated with suitable arrangement, whatever artificial lightening is to be adopted for this purpose to maintain the required illumination in case of failure of the normal source of electric supply. (f) The exits shall be marked in a language understood by the majority of the workers. (g) Iron rung ladders or spiral staircases shall not be used as exit staircases. (h) Fire resisting doors or roller shuttors shall be provided at appropriate places along the escape routes to prevent spread of fire and smoke, particularly at the entrance of lifts or stairs where funnel or flue effect may be created inducing an upward spread of fire. (i) All exits shall provide continuous means of egress to the exterior of a building or to an exterior open space leading to a street. (j) Exists shall be so located that the travel distance to reach at least one of them on the floor shall not exceed 30 meters. (k) In case of these factories where high hazard materials are stored or used, the travel distance to the exist shall not exceed 22.5 meters and there shall be at least two ways escape from every room, how ever shall, except toilet rooms, so located that the paints of access there to are out of or suitably shielded from areas of high hazard. (l) Wherever more than one exit is required for any room space or floor, exits shall be placed as remote from each other as possible and shall be arranged to provide direct access in separate directions from any point in the areas served. (m) The unit of exit width used to measure capacity of any exit shall be 50 cm. A clear width of 25 cm. shall be counted as an additional half unit. Clear width of less than 25 cm. shall not be counted for exit width. (n) Occupants per unit width shall be 50 for stairs and 75 for doors. (o) For determining the exits required, the occupant lead shall be reckoned on the basis of actual number of occupants within any floor area or 10 square meters per person, whichever is more. (p) There shall not be less than two exits serving every floor area above and below the ground floor, and at least one of them shall be an internal enclosed stairway. (q) For every building or structure used for storage only and every section thereof considered separately, shall have access to at least one exit to arrange and located as to provide a suitable means of escape of any per-son employed therein, and in any such room wherein more than 10 persons may be normally present, at least two separate means of exit shall be available, as remote from each other as practicable. (r) Every storage area shall have access to at least one means of exit which can be readily opened. (s) Every exit doorway shall open into an enclosed stairway, horizontal exit on a corridor or passageway providing continuous and protected means of egress. (t) No exit doorway shall be less than 100 cm in width, doorway shall be not less than 200 cm in height. (u) Exit doorways shall open outwards, that is, away from the room but shall not obstruct the travel along any exit, no door when opened, shall reduce the required width of a stairway or landing to less than 90 cm. Over head or sliding doors shall not be installed for this purpose. (v) An exit door shall not open immediately upon a flight of stairs A landing at least 1.5m x 1.5m in size shall be provided in the stairway at each doorway. The level of landing shall be the same as that of the floor which it serves. (w) The exit doorways shall be openable from the side which they serve without the use of a key. (x) Exit carridors and passageways shall be of a width not less than the aggregate required width of exit doorways leading from there in the direction of travel to the exterior. (y) Where stairways discharge through corridors and passageways the height of the corridors and passageways shall not be less than 2.4 meters. (aa) A staircase shall not be arranged round a lift shaft unless the latter is totally enclosed by a material having a fire resistance rating not lower than that of the type of construction of the former. (bb) Hollow combustible shall not be permitted. (cc) The minimum width of an internal staircase shall be 100 cm. (dd) The minimum width of treads without nosing shall be 25 cm. for an internal staircase. The treads shall be constructed and maintained in a manner to prevent slipping. (ee) The maximum height of a risor shall be 19 cm. and the number of risers shall be limited to 12 per flight. (ff) Hand rails shall be provided with minimum height of 100 cm. and shall be fairmly supported. (gg) The use of spiral staircase shall be limited to low occupant load and to a building of height of 9 meters, unless they are connected to platform such as balconies and terraces to allow escape to pause. A spiral staircase shall be not less than 300 cm. in diameter and have adequate head room. (hh) The width of a horizontal exit shall be same as for the exit door (ii) The horizontal exit shall be equipped with at least one fire door of self closing type. (jj) The floor area on the opposite or refuge side of a horizontal exit shall be sufficient to accommodate occupants of the floor areas served allowing not less than 0.3 square meter per person. The refuge area shall be provided with exits adequate to meet the requirements of this sub rule. At least one of the exits shall lead directly to the exterior. (kk) Where there is difference in level between connected areas for horizontal exit, ramps, not more than 1 in 8 slopes shall be provided For this purpose steps shall not be used. (ll) Doors in horizontal exits shall be openable at all times. (mm) Ramps with a slope of not more than 1 in 10 to substituted for the requirements of staircase. For all slopes exceeding 1 in 10 and wherever the use in such as to involve danger of slipping, the ramp shall be surfaced with non-slipping material. (nn) In any building not provided with automatic fire alarm a manual fire alarm system shall be provided if the total capacity of the building is over 500 persons, or if more than 25 persons are employed above or below the ground floor, except that no manual fire alarm shall be required in one-storey buildings where the entire area is undivided and all parts thereof are clearly visible to all occupants. (10) First-aid fire fighting arrangements- (a) In every factory there shall be provided and maintained adequate and suitable fire fighting equipment for fighting fires in the early stages, those being referred to as first-aid fire fighting equipment in this rule. (b) The types of first-aid fire fighting equipment to be provided shall be determined by considering the different types of fire risks which are classified as follows :- (i) "Class A Fire".- Fire due to combustible materials such as wood, textiles, paper, rubbish and the like. 1. "Light Hazard".- Occupancies like offices, assembly halls canteens, restroom, ambulances, rooms and the like; 2. "Ordinary Hazard ".- Occupancies like saw mills carpentry shop, shall timber yards, book binding shops engineering workshop and the like; 3. "Extra Hazard".- Occupancies like large timber yards, godowns storting fibrous materials, flour mills, cotton mills, jute mills, large wood working factories and the like; (ii) "Class B Fire".- Fire in flammable liquids like oil, petroleum products, solvents, grease, paints etc. (iii) "Class C fire"-Fire arising out of gaseous substances. (iv) "Class D Fire".- Fire from reactive chemicals, active metals and the like. (v) "Class E Fire".- Fire involving electrical equipment and machinery and the like. (c) The number and types of first-aid fire fighting equipment to be provided for "light hazard occupancy shall be as given in schedule I. For ordinary hazard or extra hazard occupancies equipment as given in paragraph 12 shall be provided in addition to that given in schedule I. (d) The first-aid fire fighting equipment shall confirm to the relevant Indian Standards. (e) As far as possible the first-aid fire fighting equipment shall all be similar in shape and appearance and shall have the same method of operation. (f) All first aid fire fighting equipment shall be placed in a conspicuous position and shall be readily and easily accessible for immediate use. Generally these equipment shall be placed as near as possible to the exits or stair landing or normal routes of escape. (g) All water buckets and bucket pump type extinguishers shall be filled with clean water. All send buckets shall be filled with clean, dry and fine sand. (h) All other extinguishers shall be charged appropriately in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer. (i) Each first-aid fire fighting equipment shall be allotted serial number by which it shall be referred to in the records. The following details shall be painted with white paint on the body of each equipment- 1. Serial number; 2. Date of last refilling; and 3. Date of last inspection. (j) First-aid fire fighting equipment shall be placed on platforms or in cabinets in such away that their bottom is 750 mm above the floor level. Fire buckets shall be placed on hooks attached to a suitable stand or wall in such a way that their bottom is 750 mm above the floor level. Such equipment if placed outside the building, shall be under sheds or covers. (k) All extinguishers shall be thoroughly cleaned and recharged immediately after discharge. Sufficient refill material shall be kept readily available for this purpose at all times. (l) All first-aid fire fighting equipment shall be subjected to routine maintenance inspection and testing to be carried out properly trained persons. Periodically of the routine maintenance inspection and text shall confirm to the relevant Indian Standards. (11) Other fire fighting arrangements- (a) In every factory I adequate provision of water supply for fire fighting shall be made and where the amount of water required in liters per minute, as calculated from the formula A+B+C+D divided by 20 is 550 or more power driven trailor pumps of adequate capacity to meet the requirement of water as calculated above shall be provided and maintained. In the above formula- A = The total area in square meters of all floors including galleries building of the factory; B = The total area in square meters of all floors and galleries including open spaces in which combustible materials are handed or stored. C = The total area in square meters of all floors over 15 meters above ground level; and D = The total area in square meters of all floors of all buildings other than those of fire resisting construction. Provided that in areas where the fire risk involved does not require use of water, such areas under B, C or D may, for the purpose of calculation, be halved Provided further that where the areas under B, C or Dare protected by permanent automatic fire fighting installations approved by any fire association or fire insurance company such areas may for the purpose of calculation, be halved. Provided also that where the factory is situated at not more than 3 kilometers from an established city or town fire service, the pumping capacity based on the amount of water arrived at by the formula above may be reduced by 25%, but no account shall be taken of this reduction in calculating water supply required under clause (a). (b) Each trailor pump shall be provided with equipment as per schedule II appended to this rule. Such equipment shall confirm to the relevant Indian Standards. (c) Trailor pump shall be housed in a separate shed or sheds which shall be sited closed to a principal source of water supplies in the vicinity of the main risks of the factory, (d) In factories where the area is such as cannot be reached by man-hauling of trailor pumps within reasonable time vehicles with towing attachment shall be provided at the scale of one for every four trailor pumps with a minimum of one such vehicle kept available at all times, (e) Water supply shall be provided to give flow of water as required d under clause (a) for at least l00 minutes. At least 50% of this water supply or 450,000 liters whichever is less shall be in the form of static tanks of adequate capacities (not less than 450,000 liters each) distributed round the factory with due regards to the potential fire risks in the factory. Where piped supply is provided, the size of the main shall not be less than 15 centimeters diameter and it shall be capable of supplying a minimum of 4500 liters per minute at a pressure of not less than 7 kilogrammes per square centimeter. (f) All trailor pumps including the equipment provided with them and the vehicles for towing them shall be maintained in good condition and subjected to periodical inspection and testing as required. (12) Personnel in charge of equipment and for fire fighting, fire drills, etc.- (a) The first-aid and other fire fighting equipment to be provided as required in sub rule 10 & 11 shall be in charge of a trained responsible person. (b) Sufficient number of persons shall be trained in the proper handling of fire fighting equipment as referred to in clause (a) and their use against the types of fire for which they are intended to ensure that adequate number of persons are available for fire fighting both by means of first-aid fire fighting equipment and others. Such persons shall be provided with clothing and equipment including helmets, belts, and boots preferably gumboots. Wherever vehicles with towing attachment are to be provided as required in clause (d) of sub-rule (11) sufficient number of persons shall be trained in driving these vehicles to ensure that trained persons are available for driving them whenever the need arises. (c) Fire fighting drills shall be held at often as necessary and at least once in every period of 2 months. (13) Automatic sprinklers and fire hydrants shall be in addition and not in substitution of the requirements in sub rule (10) and (11) (14) If the Chief Inspector is satisfied in respect of any factory or any part of the factory that owing to the exceptional circumstances such as inadequacy of water supply or infrequency of the manufacturing process or for any other reason, to be recorded in writing, all or any of the requirements of the rules are impracticable or not necessary for the protection or workers, he may by order in writing (which he may at his discretion revoke) exempt such factory or part of the factory from all or any of the provisions of the rules subject to conditions as he such order prescribe. | 
