The move is important in the backdrop of heightened awareness about fire-safety in the light of several deaths in recent accidents.
June 1, 2019
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is expected to propose an Indian standard for fire-survival cables. Most short-circuits and electrical fires are caused because of melting of cables and presently there are no standards to be followed for fire-survival cables in India.
“Presently the domestic industry is benchmarking itself to the British Standard BS 7846 for fire-survival cables. These cables are supposed to withstand temperatures up to 950OC for at least three hours. This is to ensure that elevators and fire pumps are operational to ensure a safe passage for inhabitants,” said Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director at the International Copper Association.
“The BIS is in the process of standardizing parameters for fire-survival cables and it is likely to complete this in the next six months. Since copper has a melting point of 1085OC, it will be mandatory for these cables to have copper,” he said.
