After a fire tragedy in a Mumbai rooftop restaurant that killed 14 people on Friday, the Odisha Fire Services on Saturday conducted inspections of fire safety measures in various hotels, clubs and cinema halls in various places in the State, where New Year celebrations will be organised.

The inspection was carried out at prominent hotels, clubs and cinema halls in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Brahmapur, informed Fire Services DG BK Sharma.

Around 20 teams under the leadership of senior Fire Officers physically inspected the venues and checked the condition of equipment and other measures of fire safety. Capacity of the staff to use fire equipments was also checked. During the inspection, various inadequacies were noticed, said Sharma.

In case of noncompliance of norms, appropriate legal action under the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rule- 2017 would be initiated, said the DG.

However, sources said that in many hotels and clubs, fire alarms and smoke detectors are nonexistent. Many organisations do not have fire exits.

Just installing fire safety gadgets is not enough; they have to be maintained properly as without regular upkeep, they would not function properly in case of an emergency, said a fire official.

Besides, fire evacuation drills should be conducted regularly by the hotels. "The aim of the drills is to find out how much time is taken to bring out guests to safety. Regular evacuation drills will keep the hotel employees prepared for a real situation. Evacuation drills could also have exposed the loopholes in the firefighting arrangements," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Fire safety gadgets should undergo periodic tests, at least once in six months; but sadly, it is seldom done, he rued.