Building Fire and Disaster Resilience in Student Rental Housing: A University Social Responsibility Initiative for PG and Hostel Communities in Nagasandra, Bengaluru

Author

Krishna Valecha, Ayush Balwant Singh, Akarshh Seth, Saksham Gupta

Abstract

 Paying guest housing (PG), hostels, and shared flats accommodate a significant number of students in Bengaluru, but not much is known about fire and disaster preparedness in this unregulated space. In this project, we conducted a survey of 103 students living in PGs, hostels, and shared flats in Nagasandra and nearby localities (Chikkabidarakallu, Dasarahalli) through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire assessing awareness, preparedness behavior, confidence in the management, peer influence, sustainability attitude, and institutional support expectation. The results of the survey show high awareness of basic safety provisions along with a huge preparedness gap: 90.3% of respondents said that there was never any fire drill held at their accommodation, while 65% had never seen any posted evacuation plan. Based on these results, we propose a University Social Responsibility (USR) project in the form of a Fire and Disaster Readiness Cell led by the students and linking university, PG/hostel owners, and civic fire authorities.

Keywords

Student Rental Housing, Fire and Disaster Resilience, University Social Responsibility

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References

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