Indian State Government: Towers Taller Than 70 M Need FELs

The Maharashtra Government’s Energy Development Agency, which covers large Indian cities including Mumbai and Thane, issued an advisory on July 23 stating that all high-rise towers of at least 70 m have Fire Evacuation Lifts (FELs), the Free Press Journal reports. A FEL is an elevator designed to resist fire for at least 2 h that is located in an unoccupied part of a building. The source says that of Mumbai’s 368 tall buildings, only 13 have FELs installed, even after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp. issued a notification in 2018 mandating them. Mumbai and Thane together have a total of 21 tall buildings with FELs, which Mumbai Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Hemant Parab said is due to the projects being so time-consuming.