Fire License in West Bengal- Overview

Fire safety regulations are in established to ensure that the buildings are constructed and maintained with the appropriate safety protocols to prevent the occurrence of fire or control the fire occurring in high-risk buildings. These provisions are laid down in Section 2(HB) of West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950.

The authority concerning licensing and fire safety are entrusted with the Director-General of Fire and Emergency Services and the Deputy Director for Fire Services.

Fire license is obtained for creating new establishments, where the purpose of the formation is to carry out the manufacture and storage of dangerous and hazardous inflammable items. An applicant from the Northern part of Bengal has to apply for the license at the Office of the Director-General of Fire Services, located in Siliguri. The application for the districts of South Bengal must be filed at the office of the Collector in the License Section of Fire Brigade Department, located at Mirza Galib Street in Kolkata. The issuance and renewal of fire license takes place at the place of receipt of application. Below is the address for both the locations mentioned above in this article.

Fire Brigade Head Quarter

13D, Mirza Ghalib Street, Kolkata- 700016

Telephone: 2252 1165, 2252 6164, 2252 3170,
2252 2222 - 8 (7 lines), 2227 6666
Mobile: 8584027148, 8584027149, 8584027150
Fax: +2252 2223

North Bengal Districts (Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar)

Office of Deputy Director Fire Services (DDFS),
Siliguri Fire Station Complex,
Station Feeder Road,
Siliguri
Ph: 0353-2502222/1867

The following documents are to be attached with the application:

• Building Plan Layout or Blue Print of the Proposed Construction of the Premises
• Model of the Building
• Registered office address
• Fire safety compliance Certificate
• Checklist prepared by the architect
• Copy of Aadhar
• PAN card of the applicant
• Photographs of the Full Building Clicked from Indoors
• Outside Photographs of the premise
• Wiring plan of the building
• Any other form of analysis as requested by the certified officer related to fire safety measures
• A statement depicting the name and maximum quantity of hazardous materials to be maintained or stored
• A statement containing details of fire services, which includes the number of full-time fire personnel and their qualifications, names of fire prevention and fire safety appliances in the building
• A statement providing the structure and nature of occupancy within the proposed warehouse

Establishments are classified as A, B and C depending on the operational areas of the high-risk building, among other aspects.

Class A:
includes buildings above the height of 14.5 meters or more than 5000 cubic meters.

Class B:
Includes high-risk buildings with a minimum height of seven meters and a maximum of 14.5 meters, with a coverage area spanning between 5000-2000 cubic meters.

Class C:
Includes buildings below the height of seven meters or below 2000 cubic meters.

Fire Safety Certificate is issued to ensure that the buildings are built and maintained adhering to prescribed safety standards, so that fire accident of any kind is abated. This comprises of all high-rise buildings greater than the height of 14.5 meters.

The application for fire certificate (for North Bengal and South Bengal applicants) must be filed to the same address as that of fire license.

The Fire Safety Certificate is mandated to be renewed upon expiry. Renewal of certificate requires the following documents:

• Copy of Checklist against FSR (Fire Safety Registration) issued by the authorized personnel.
• Endorsed Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) copy.

The procedure for getting Fire License through offline method is as follows;

• The applicant has to submit the application in person to the Chief Fire Officer or the Fire Service Department for obtaining the fire clearance certificate attaching all the required documents along with the application form.
• Once the documents are received, the Chief Fire Officer or the Fire Service Department would verify the documents. After such documents are verified, then they would be forwarded to the chief officer of the concerned state authority.
• The inspector or the chief officer would visit the premises to carry out a report related to fire safety audit for the premises.
• Thereafter, the Chief Inspector of the Fire Brigade shall issue a NOC for the premises after ensuring that all the measures related to fire safety compliance have been followed.
• Once the NOC from fire department is obtained, the same would be valid for a particular period of time, after which it is required to be renewed.