Prof Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder :
Nowadays fire incident is one of the major threats in urban life. Despite the continuous explosions and fires taking a devastating form, no one seems to be concerned. Fires occur throughout the year as a normal occurrence in this country. Every year, explosions and fires take the lives of hundreds of people and destroy a huge amount of property. Most of the explosions that have occurred in the country have occurred in commercial buildings, i.e., commercial buildings, restaurants, and residences within the same building. With the increase in urbanization, such mixed uses are increasing day by day. Some of the notable reasons for fire incidents in the country are the construction of buildings without following the building codes prescribed by RAJUK, lax fire safety rules, and lack of regular monitoring.
Many horrific fires have occurred in recent years, i.e. between 2010 and 2022. The first fire of 2024 started on February 29 with a fire in the Green Cozy Cottage building on Bailey Road. The entire building was used for commercial purposes. 46 people died in this terrible fire that broke out on Thursday night. The fire on Bailey Road caused an estimated loss of property worth about Tk 200 crore. The fire started from a coffee shop named ‘Chumuk’ on the ground floor of the Green Cozy Cottage building, which later spread quickly to other floors of the building. However, towards the end of the year, on December 25, a terrible fire broke out in Building No. 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat, the heart of the administration, which was an unprecedented fire.
After each explosion, officials from the police, fire service, explosives department, CID and other relevant agencies immediately visit the scene and an investigation committee is formed every time. Although explosions and fires occur from various sources, it is initially believed that such fires occur due to the explosion of gas accumulated in water tanks for a long time, leakage or holes in the gas supply line, cylinder or boiler explosion, chemical reaction, high pressure or electrical disturbances. Unplanned construction of buildings, lack of regular monitoring of the constructed buildings, faulty electrical connections and use of electrical appliances, lax fire safety regulations, overpopulation and lack of fire safety awareness are among the main reasons. The Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense Department publishes statistics on all fires that occurred across the country every year from 2015 to 2024, along with their causes.
Unplanned urbanization, violation of building codes, and lack of fire safety awareness have led to the risk of explosions and fires lurking everywhere in this megacity of over 20 million people. To address the problem of fires in Bangladesh, the government has taken various steps to establish and enforce fire safety regulations, most notably ensuring fire safety equipment in all buildings across the country and conducting regular inspections of high-risk areas. The authorities need to take the issue of safety more seriously and improve our disaster preparedness and responsiveness. Failure to regularly monitor the safety tanks and water tanks of unplanned buildings causes gas to accumulate inside them. Explosions occur when too much gas accumulates. Therefore, they need to be monitored regularly. Gas lines should be checked for leaks or holes at regular intervals.
In the case of building construction, permission should be given to construct the building after verifying whether the fire safety system of the building is satisfactory. Buildings that are risky in terms of fire safety should be identified and appropriate measures should be taken. Electrical connections should be checked regularly and faulty electrical connections and electrical appliances should be repaired. Installation of low-quality electrical appliances should be avoided. Smoking should be prohibited or a separate zone should be designated. Everyone in the workplace or the responsible person should know how to operate fire extinguishers and, if necessary, the authorities should train all their officers and employees in operating fire extinguishers. Fire safety equipment should be installed properly and regularly maintained as per the law.
Fire can occur at any time, so one should always be alert. If a fire breaks out anywhere, the main electrical connection should be disconnected immediately. One should remain as calm and quiet as possible during a fire. Everyone should memorize the emergency telephone number of the fire service and civil defense and inform them quickly. Until the fire service vehicle arrives, one must continue to try to extinguish the fire from a safe distance. One should try to extinguish the fire using fire extinguishers. Water should not be poured on electrical lines, oil fires, or any machines or appliances. The fire alarm should be sounded or a special signal should be given to warn everyone. There should be no rush in any way. This can lead to serious injuries or even death.
Therefore, one should keep a cool head and decide what to do. If the floor is covered in smoke, crawl out slowly. If possible, cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth, handkerchief, or towel and crawl out. If it is not possible to get out immediately, wear a gas mask and wait. If your body or clothes catch fire, never run. You should quickly lie down on the ground and roll over until the fire is extinguished, placing both hands on your face. Above all, it may be possible to control unwanted fires to some extent by making the public aware of fires, protecting yourself during fires, and teaching techniques for initially controlling fires.
(Prof Kamruzzaman is Dean, Faculty of Science, Professor, Dept. of Environmental Science, Stamford University Bangladesh).
