Telangana has made fire towers and fire command centres mandatory for buildings taller than 24 metres, regardless of whether they are residential, commercial or semi-commercial, under revised requirements issued by the state fire services department.
The revised provisions also allow diesel generators to be installed in basement rooms, provided the rooms have walls with a two-hour fire-resistance rating. Louvres, or vertical slats that support ventilation, will be mandatory for such generator rooms.
The new instructions also remove the requirement for fire no-objection certificates for buildings shorter than 24 metres. Under the earlier framework, commercial buildings above 15 metres and residential buildings above 18 metres required a fire NOC.
According to the Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence department, the changes are intended to create a clearer and more uniform process for implementing fire-safety measures while applications for provisional fire NOCs are processed. Fire officials said the revised provisions were also aimed at improving ease of compliance and ensuring that safety measures are implemented effectively.
The instructions came into force on October 7 and will apply only to fresh applications. Projects that have already submitted applications are not covered by the revised requirements, according to the reported guidelines.
The changes follow the government’s revised categorisation of high-rise buildings. A building will now be treated as a high-rise once its height crosses 21 metres, or approximately six floors, compared with the earlier threshold of 18 metres, or approximately five floors. The revised fire-safety requirements separately prescribe specific measures for buildings taller than 24 metres.
Vikram Singh Mann, Director-General of Fire Services, issued the revised requirements after consultations with representatives of major builder associations, including the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, the National Real Estate Development Council and the Telangana Builders Federation.
The revised framework places new emphasis on dedicated fire-response infrastructure within taller buildings. A fire tower is intended to support firefighting access and movement, while a fire command centre provides a designated location for coordinating emergency response systems. The guidelines make both provisions applicable to buildings above the 24-metre threshold, irrespective of occupancy type.
The changes also establish a specific safety condition for basement generator installations. Developers seeking to house diesel generators below ground will have to provide rooms with walls rated to resist fire for two hours and install mandatory louvres. These requirements form part of the revised instructions for processing provisional fire NOC applications.
For residents, occupants and building operators, the immediate effect will depend on whether a project is a fresh application or was already in the approval process when the instructions came into force. The department’s stated objective is to standardise the process while ensuring that buildings requiring fire-safety systems incorporate them during approval and construction.
The revised requirements will now guide the processing of fresh provisional fire NOC applications in Telangana. The department’s consultation with builder bodies and its new thresholds are the key changes to be applied under the instructions issued from October 7.
