“A few decades ago, there was no proper fire safety equipment in India. I remember my father introducing some of the necessary services in fire safety in South India. Back then, I used to watch him very closely while he worked. I think that’s what inspired me to take up fire safety as a profession. By the time I was in college, I had already conducted more than 400 training sessions. My father suggested I do an in-depth course in it. I did my research and decided that I wanted to follow British standards. I moved to London and completed multiple levels of training under the British Safety Council. In fact, I am the only brown woman from Asia to do Level 7 in Fire safety management from Cambridge University. I am also a certified safety expert from the National Examination Board in the Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) of British Safety Council. Right now I am also pursuing PG in Fire and Safety Engineering from Nagpur University.

Throughout, my aim was to come back to India and set-up a full fledged team here. So I worked for a year and shifted back home. Since then, I’ve been doing my research and trying to create awareness on the importance and necessity of fire safety in India. We have a huge population, high density and very basic safety measures. Most of the people employed by big companies are not even experts in the field. How can we risk safety? We celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra in mandals across the country with diyas and lighting. In situations like this, it’s even more important to have all the safety measures in place.

I believe that basic fire safety needs to be a part of the curriculum for grade 10 students. In one of the incidents, I faced middle-aged woman throw a fire extinguisher into fire thinking that’s the way to make it work. She didn’t know that you have to clip it and extinguish by holding it in your hands. Luckily, I was around so I could help her out. But this is just one of the examples. There are so many incidents where we see the lack of awareness and education. Sensitising the public is absolutely important.

Moreover, due to the recent fire mishaps across the state, there have been several progressive changes happening with the action. The government has brought few amendments regarding fire safety rules – For every 100 metres there has to be a fire extinguisher and smoke detector. Every shopkeeper should have a NOC and training certification from the government.

Considering these changes, I also want to educate all the districts of the state through my project, Safe Zone Telangana. I want to create awareness and help people understand how to deal with fire accidents. That’s a concern we’re not addressing but something that really needs to be addressed.”