PRAYAGRAJ, June 13 -- A fire safety audit in Prayagraj has exposed serious gaps in preparedness in case of emergemcy. While most hotels have fire extinguishers and other safety equipment, their staff are not trained to use them. This means that in case of a fire, the ability to control it in the early stages depends largely on chance. The Fire Department began intensive inspections of hotels and commercial establishments on June 4, following a deadly hotel fire in Delhi. In just one week, officials inspected 149 hotels. They found that although many places had installed fire extinguishers, alarms and related systems, employees were largely unaware of how to operate them. In several hotels, staff admitted they did not know how to use a fire extinguisher during an emergency. Officials said that instructions had been issued earlier, asking establishments to follow fire safety norms and ensure trained personnel are available. However, most operators did not take the guidelines seriously. Even after repeated notices, many shortcomings have not been addressed. To tackle the issue, the Fire Department has now started training staff during inspections. So far, 920 employees have been given basic lessons on using fire extinguishers and handling initial emergency situations. According to chief fire officer (CFO) Chandramohan Sharma, if staff were properly trained, fires could often be controlled at an early stage, preventing major losses. "Hotel owners have been given 15 days to fix the problems. We have issued stern warning to all hotel owners of initiation of strict action in case they failed to comply with the instructions," he added....