Firemen will now perform street plays to stress on the importance of fire-safety equipment maintenance. "The tallest snorkel with the Mumbai fire brigade team can reach only up to 22 floors. Our rescue work becomes easier if people at least maintain the fire safety equipment. Our five-six minute long play will focus on this," said Uday Tatkare, chief fire officer, MFB. The play is written and directed by the firemen and will be performed at stations, malls, multiplexes and gardens.
Mumbai has more than 2,000 high-rises with more in the pipeline. The increase in the fire incidence rate has been proportional to the city's vertical growth. Until 2006-07, the annual number of fire calls did not exceed 400, but in the past three years, it has consistently scaled 5,000.
"We have found that many high-rises don't follow fire safety norms and the fire-fighting equipment is not functional," said Tatkare. According to sources, about 80% cases of fire broke out because of short circuit. | 
