Staged safely

The stage on fire on Sunday night (Photo: Shripad Naik)

The massive fire that broke out on Sunday night at the Make In India stage came as a jolt to the organisers who were reminded once again of the million things that can go wrong despite repeated safety checks. Organising events at such a large scale is no piece of cake given the sheer number of people and the minute detailing involved in every step of the process. So what exactly goes on behind-the-scenes while preparing for an event What kind of precautions are followed, is there a protocol in place in case of emergencies and most importantly, how emergency ready one is — are some of the few questions we asked event organisers and administrative authorities to understand what does it take to avert (and in some cases sail through) a crisis on D-Day.

One aspect the events sector suffers from is the lack of bylaws and accountability, points out Shyam Bhatia, architect and stage designer. “A lot more needs to be done in this sector in terms of regulations. For instance, in the construction sector, there are strict bylaws in place that architects and civil engineers need to abide by. In high-rises, there needs to be a vacant space till the eighth floor because that is how high the fire rescue ladder can reach. There are no such laws for stage designers. And there is no accountability either, because people at the top aren’t always qualified architects or civil engineers. Admittedly, they are talented and capable even without a formal degree, which is why they are on top. But the difference is that architects operate on the basis of their license and registration.

In the case of a major crisis or flaw, their licenses and consequently their whole career are held at stake. So they are very careful, they have to be. That is not the case for someone who is not a qualified architect.” Shyam adds that India needs to do a lot more in this sector to meet international standards. “The rules regarding event safety are far more stringent in Dubai and South Africa. So compared to the international space, India still has a long way to go,” he says.

Dancer-turned-actress Lauren Gottleib who is a well-known name in the industry admits that as a frequent performer, she was alarmed at the safety measures followed by event organisers in India. Lauren, who came to India from the US, says, “I have noticed that very often here adequate measures aren’t in place. One time this fire broke out in the set of a stage in a movie that I was doing and surprisingly there were no fire safety personnel or equipment around.” She adds, “I heard that the fire department took quick action in Sunday’s incident and that’s a great thing but that’s how it should be. As a performer you are just mostly excited about the opportunities that you are getting and don’t really look into safety precautions before signing but this is something that should be imperative. There are several safety regulations, which may be annoying or hard to abide by, but this is just something that should be stuffed down your face. Take the flights for example, every time you hear the same safety announcement about what to do when something bad happens. It may be annoying or repetitive, but it is absolutely important and may just save your life.”

Some feel that it’s not the rules and regulations that are lacking — it’s the implementation that is questionable. Brian Tellis, chairman, Fountainhead promotions and events, feels that everybody needs to get NOCs and permission required from the relevant departments, but there is more to the process than mere paperwork. “One needs to be really diligent about the quality of inputs because that is something where things go wrong. One has to reduce the odds to as close to zero and that comes from diligence. Say for instance, I’m talking about pyrotechnics, I must have someone in my production who understands the pros and cons of using pyrotechnics. Our business is exceedingly subjective,” he says. Brian continues, “I really empathise with what happened yesterday because when was the last time we heard of a set catching fire But all I can say is that we should all learn from this including the clients. But we shouldn’t be waiting for incidents like these to learn our lessons.”

Dhananjay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner of police: The police have a very specific role in safety and precautionary measures. The most important things that the police are supposed to look after are the surrounding deployment and manpower. There are a lot of aspects that need to be looked into such as crowd controlling, proper and adequate briefing of the policemen on duty, assignment of specific roles for each group and so on. This is very important in closed venues for safety and precautionary measures.

Sahsikant Kale, Deputy Chief Fire Officer: For any function, one first needs to apply to the police, and police asks the concerned person to get a No Objection Certificate from the fire brigade. And they address to the fire brigade department. Then the concerned area officer visits the venue and accordingly he gives his remark and no objection certificate. Once the organisers compliances are in place, the organisers are given a ‘go ahead’. That’s the general procedure.