Juzer Madarwala, Machanical Engineer,
CMD, Elixir Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

     Give a brief history of your Company’s journey of 25 years  

Elixir Engineering Pvt. Ltd was started 25 years ago with a commitment to improve the safety and performance of industries through its various service offerings.

Vaccifire our flagship brand was launched 5 yrs back to improve our focus on Fire Safety in not just Industries, but also Residential and Commercial Premises.

Our motto has always been simple – To find solutions. We constantly strive to find better and more efficient ways of not only preventing but also fighting fire.

When we started 25 years back, Elixir was just a 2 employee Company. Today I am proud to say that we have grown to a team of almost 300 employees.

Today, we are safe-guarding more than a 100 premises in Mumbai & Pune. We have a few sites around the Konkan belt too. Our clients include Diverse Industries, Residential & Commercial Buildings, Schools, Hospitals, Buildings, and Warehouses.

Over the years we have been closely associated with Mumbai’s Fire Brigade and have worked intently with them to implement fire safety measures to make Mumbai a Fire Safe City.

Its humbling to see so many prestigious societies looking up to us and taking our advice on how to manage their fire systems. We are forever grateful to our customers and know the responsibility is huge. After all this business is not just about earning through sales and services. This is about saving lives and being alert always – on guard forever.

Q- Great to know the work Vaccifire is doing but do you find it challenging in the cities?

Of course! Fire safety is always a challenge and more so in cities as they are so crowded, with tall high-rises having hundreds of residents making it very difficult to keep safe from emergencies and calamities. High-rise buildings are structurally quite prone to rapid spreading of fires due to the presence of elevator shafts, garbage chutes, stairwells, etc.

Safety is actually a set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent ignition of an uncontrolled fire, and those that are used to limit the development and effects of a fire after it starts. Vaccifire helps the society to identify their weak points and then strengthen the safety measures by enhancing and maintaining the fire safety equipment involving the best of engineering and innov

Q- What are the innovations you have brought about in the fire industry? 

We have realized that every fire agency needs to undertake maintenance of Fire

Systems in a comprehensive manner. We feel that we should utilize the various tools available.

(Manual as well as Digital) to manage and maintain the Fire

Systems efficiently. Proper Records must be kept in the event of a Fire

Incident, so that we learn from our mistakes and every stake holder makes sure that he is accountable if something goes wrong. Therefore, we have devised and designed checklists to manage fire equipment. 

We were the first to make a proper checklist form that our technicians would carry along in every service visit. This form was duly signed by the manager/ committee member of the society so that they too were aware of the service being rendered. Our Form B is also designed very carefully and gives the exact data needed by MFB Mumbai Fire Brigade to verify the fire systems of the premises. 

As time progressed we were also again the first ones to take this checklist DIGITALLY on an APP.

Also we have worked tirelessly with MFB, so that customers can submit their Form B digitally on the government website, without the hassle of manual submissions.

  

Q- Are there any fire safety initiatives taken by you?

A)   We were the first ones to work alongside MFB – Mumbai Fire Brigade to start a citizen awareness programme. We trained about 6000 citizens of Mumbai in conjunction with MFB to become fire fighters in case any emergency shows up. They are now working in times of need helping the Fire Brigade do a better/faster job.

     B)   As a Core Working Committee Member of FSAI – Fire & Security Association of India ( Mumbai Chapter) we conduct several training and awareness programmes for students/ women and even slum dwellers of the city. 

     Q- We have heard of something called a Baby – Riser that looks like a rocket. What is it exactly?

The Baby- Riser is a product of intensive research and due diligence, considering extensive customer feedback. There had been a lack of effectiveness in fire trainings – this has been our own experience over so many years.

We wondered what was missing? We realized the dry theoretical aspect of training makes it impossible to understand the nature of an emergency and its reaction to it. So, to make it more interesting, we needed an interactive style of teaching, so that the trainee gets an actual feel of the fire-fighting equipment. This would give them the confidence to use it in an actual emergency. 

This also ensures less panic and better coordination by the subject. And helps us to SAVE LIVES & PROPERTY. Keeping this as our cornerstone, our design team has developed an equipment called Baby Riser, that meets all these requirements – it is easy to transport and lightweight too. It has two components – one water based and one electronic.

This product is so amazing that it gives all training subjects an opportunity to feel the process of an actual firefighting scene. 

Q- What are your final thoughts on improving fire safety in today’s times?

It is an established fact that the main cause of loss of life and property is due to

NON-WORKING FIRE SYSTEMS. We have noticed that in Avighna recently and in Lotus Park & Kamala Mills earlier. And of course in many other fire incidents too.

Infact, only a few days back a prestigious Bandra Society (Jivesh Terraces) got a notice from Fire Brigade due to non-compliance of Fire Safety.

Therefore, the prime need in today’s time is maintenance being done such that all fire equipment is kept at optimum working levels. All industries should recognize this issue and entrust their fire systems to professional agencies who are licensed and employ the latest technology to keep the system healthy.

This would go a long way in saving lives and property which is our final goal.

      

For more information

www.vaccifire.com

(This "Interviews" Published in May 2022 Edition)