Fire safety and security cannot be taken lightly. As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) last report, at least thirty-five Indians die in fire accidents daily. The number is 25,000 for a year. And women account for almost 66% of the total fire accident fatalities.
The best way to stop such kinds of accidents is to increase awareness about adopting the best fire safety norms and systems in and around the places where we live and work. And in the case of any such unfortunate incidents occurring, the best way to fight it is to be well-equipped with the perfect fire protection solutions like fire alarms, personal protection equipment, fire extinguishers, fire hydrant, and industrial safety products.
Agni Vijay, the complete fire protection solution provider, is a decade-and-a-half old company that can help you in this regard. They have the perfect tried and tested solutions with 125 different kinds of fire, road, and industrial safety equipment.
In our search for ‘The Most Reliable Fire and Safety Service Providers’, Insights Success interviewed Mr. Gajanand Narware, the Founder and Managing Director, of this leading player in the fire protection industry. Below given are the excerpts from that insightful interview.
Please tell our readers about Agni Vijay in brief.
We established Agni Vijay in the year 2007. Since then, we have been working in the wholesale and retail business of fire safety, road safety, and industrial safety equipment and products all over Madhya Pradesh.
We got our NSIC-CIBIL Performance and Credit Rating Certificate of ‘SE 3B’ in 2013. So far, we have served 5,000 private and government customers across the state.
Brief us about the featured person and shed some light on their professional tenure.
After graduating from the National Fire Academy (NFA), I started this business. Soon, I was joined by Mr. Pradeep Kumar Dewanji, the principal of my fire college, and Mr. Wahid Khan Johar, from whom I learned the nuances of this business. Then Mr. Sunil Shingji joined the company and kept guiding us through our thick and thin.
From the beginning, my parents and friends were my strongest support. And my wife, Mrs. Shaila Narware, always gave me the essential moral backing. With the help of all of these people, here I am, leading this company and saving people’s lives from fire accidents. And I hope that I will always be able to do this with the support of everyone around me.
What made you venture into the space of fire and safety?
Once, there was an incident of arson where we lived. At that time, we had no means to avoid and fight it. By the time the fire brigade people arrived, the fire had spread across the entire field and caused a lot of damage, though no personal injuries. It was a very life-threatening and eye-opening accident. It made me think a lot about the safety of my family and loved ones. And the idea became my passion, and after becoming a postgraduate, I went for the Diploma in Fire Safety. With that diploma, I started this company. And today, here I am, serving the people at large by providing complete fire safety solutions to them.
What kind of services do you provide?
As I told earlier, we are a total safety and security solutions providing company. We have 100% genuine products. We have a free and easy returns policy. And we provide 24*7*365 days of support to all our customers, franchisees, and tender bearers.
Our complete services include,
- Fire extinguisher sales and services
- Fire alarm systems and fire hydrant
- Systems insulation and annual maintenance
- Road safety product sales and services
- Industrial safety product sales
- Gas suppression systems
- Fire doors and shutters
- Wet systems and sprinkler valves
What kind of challenges have you faced while entering the fire and safety service space?
The first challenge is making the people aware of our fire safety and security plants and work number of plants.
The second challenge is the absence of a Fire Safety and Security Act in Madhya Pradesh. Due to this, the overall industry scenario is bleak, with very few Fire Safety and Security companies in and around the entire state. Thus, the availability of jobs and recruitments are low.
The third challenge stems from the second challenge, which is a lack of skilled manpower to do this kind of work.
The fourth challenge lies with the fact that there are no manufacturing units for the production of fire protection equipment in our state. We have to order them from places like Delhi and Mumbai.
How has Agni Vijay been affected during this pandemic and what are the steps taken for it?
During the time of the pandemic, our work-orders came down to 20% due to the lockdown and subsequent restriction, which stopped the movement of people. Our staff, who were mostly from the outside of Bhopal city, did not return, and we had to recruit new people to begin our operations again. But somehow, we managed it.
For the staff who remained with us, we provided monthly assistance and all the benefits we could afford.
What advice would you like to give to the younger generation of fire and safety enthusiasts?
I would like to say to the younger generation of enthusiasts that, like other sectors, this sector also has great potential. Especially the manufacturing of safety equipment and products. They can surely develop some units. Whenever they will, they are welcome to seek our assistance.
They can also join us as a franchisee, as we are now a well-established brand in this region. Or, they can go for the skills training, as many posts of firefighters and fire officers remain vacant in different public and private departments, including ours.
Where do you envision Agni Vijay to be located in the long run and what is your future?
If the Fire Safety and Security Act of Madhya Pradesh gets a green signal, then our industry will get a lot of momentum, and business from neighboring states will also come to us.
We are further focusing a lot on expanding our presence across the state via the franchise model. So far, we have three of them, in Ujjain, Chhindwara, and Itarsi, all in MP.
We also provide tenders for opening an office/shop with all of our products available for display and sales (wholesale and retail).
How do you plan to adapt to the changes in disaster recovery solutions?
There are many items in our services that have been used to tackle all kinds of safety and security challenges in the past. We will keep promoting and selling them. We will also make sure that in the time of urgency, they are easily available to the people.
