'Poor advice by NIDM on how to practise fire safety' - K.J.S.Chatrath

Here are some of the gems from the half page advertisement put in various newspapers today by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India) New Delhi: 

 

“Diwali is a festival of joy and happiness. Lighting candles and bursting crackers along with family members, increases the happiness on this occasion. Thus (emphasis supplied), it is necessary to keep fire safety in mind, while lighting candles and bursting crackers” 

 

After this rather verbose introduction, it goes on to list 15 ‘General Fire Safety & Protection Tips’ and 10 ‘Additional Tips for Fire Safety’.

 

Some of the interesting ones’:

 

·         “.....Draw a floor plan with all the escape routes. The plan should include important details like stairs, hallways and windows that can be used as fire escapes”

·         “Prepare an Escape Plan for your Home, School, Insitution or Office”

·         “Install smoke detectors to detect both smoldering and burning fires...”

 

But the best advice given by this august Institute is:

·         “Practise yelling ‘FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!’”

 

My take: The NIDM needs to become more professional.