LAHORE - Punjab Emergency Service (PES) on Wednesday held a consultative meeting on safety regulations for buildings. Safety and building experts shared their technical input to finalise the Safety Regulation for Buildings more than 50 feet above its lowest level. PES Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer welcomed the experts and briefed them about the Punjab Community Safety Act-2021. He said the service had so far responded to over 177,000 fire incidents by improving emergency response and professional firefighting on modern lines.
He said that despite having a comprehensive system of emergency management, firefighting had become the biggest challenge due to rapid urbanisation and the absence of safety measures in buildings.
Accordingly, after the enactment of Punjab Community Safety Act 2021, the building safety regulations had been drafted to ensure the safe sustainable development of buildings. On the occasion, experts under the chair of DG Emergency Department reviewed the Safety Regulations Draft in detail on safety measures and standards including emergency exits, staircases, exit signs, hydrant system, fire protection system, fire detection, installation of fire alarms, clear access, and removal of obstructions and general safety of the building. They also discussed the function of safety manager, application procedure, and inspection & certification process.
In the end, Dr Rizwan Naseer thanked all for their valuable input and requested to share feedback and suggestions in writing by end of this week to proceed further. He also encouraged any other concerned stakeholders to come forward for submission of their valuable suggestions, recommendations to finalise Safety Regulations for Buildings to save lives and promote safety in Punjab.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of Regional Executive Committee North, Association Builder & Developer (ABAD), M Akbar Sheikh, Deputy Registrar of Pakistan Engineering Council, Engr Wasif Irshad, Vice President of The Institution of Engineers, Pakistan (IEP), Engr Javed UPPAL, Vice President of Institute of Planner, Pakistan, Dr Tariq Habib Malik, Senior Architect Khawar M Hassan, Director ARENA Tech Nouman Tahir, Head of Fire Wing, Abrar Hussain, and other senior officers from Rescue Headquarters and Academy.
He said that despite having a comprehensive system of emergency management, firefighting had become the biggest challenge due to rapid urbanisation and the absence of safety measures in buildings.
Accordingly, after the enactment of Punjab Community Safety Act 2021, the building safety regulations had been drafted to ensure the safe sustainable development of buildings. On the occasion, experts under the chair of DG Emergency Department reviewed the Safety Regulations Draft in detail on safety measures and standards including emergency exits, staircases, exit signs, hydrant system, fire protection system, fire detection, installation of fire alarms, clear access, and removal of obstructions and general safety of the building. They also discussed the function of safety manager, application procedure, and inspection & certification process.
In the end, Dr Rizwan Naseer thanked all for their valuable input and requested to share feedback and suggestions in writing by end of this week to proceed further. He also encouraged any other concerned stakeholders to come forward for submission of their valuable suggestions, recommendations to finalise Safety Regulations for Buildings to save lives and promote safety in Punjab.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of Regional Executive Committee North, Association Builder & Developer (ABAD), M Akbar Sheikh, Deputy Registrar of Pakistan Engineering Council, Engr Wasif Irshad, Vice President of The Institution of Engineers, Pakistan (IEP), Engr Javed UPPAL, Vice President of Institute of Planner, Pakistan, Dr Tariq Habib Malik, Senior Architect Khawar M Hassan, Director ARENA Tech Nouman Tahir, Head of Fire Wing, Abrar Hussain, and other senior officers from Rescue Headquarters and Academy.