Fire Safety First: Prioritising solutions for a safer Bangladesh
Prof Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder :
Even after the continuous explosions and fires take a destructive form, no one seems to care. The occurrence of fires throughout the year is a normal occurrence for this country. Every year, explosions and fires claim hundreds of lives and destroy vast amounts of property.
Most of the explosions that have occurred in the country have taken place in commercial buildings, that is, there are commercial uses, restaurants and residences within the same building.
With the increasing urbanization process, such mixed use is increasing day by day. Some of the notable factors contributing to fire incidents in the country are construction of buildings not complying with building codes prescribed by RAJUK, lax fire safety norms and lack of regular monitoring.
In recent years, between 2010 and 2022, among all the terrible fire incidents that have occurred, explosion of chemical plastic drums in 2010 at Nawab Katra, Nimtali Old Dhaka, in the warehouse of chemical combustible materials; the fire of Tazreen Fashion in 2012, a ready-made garment factory located in Nishchintpur area of Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka metropolis.
The fires that broke out in DNCC Market in Gulshan in the early hours of January 3, 2017 and Karail Basti in Mohakhali in the early hours of March 15, 2019 in Waheed Mansion and FR Tower in Banani in Churidhatta, Chawkbazar in the capital, the wireless gate explosion in Moghbazar in 2021 and the explosions at Sitakunda Container Depot in Chittagong district in 2022 still evoke horror in people’s mind. In 2023 alone, a series of explosions and fires across the country have caused widespread stir, but no such action is yet evident.
Unplanned urbanization, violation of building code regulations, and lack of fire safety awareness, the danger of explosion and fire lurks everywhere in overpopulated megacities.
Before the year 2024 began, the auspicious opening of the fire was on February 29 with a fire at the Green Cozy Cottage building in Bailey Road. The entire building was used for commercial purposes.
In this fire that took place on Thursday night, an estimated property loss of 200 crore taka has been caused and 46 people died in this terrible fire.
The fire started from a coffee shop named ‘Chumuk’ on the ground floor of the Green Cozy Cottage building, which then quickly spread to other floors of the building.
After each fire incident, the officials of the concerned organizations including Police, Fire Service, Explosives Department, CID immediately visited the spot and each time an investigation committee was constituted.
Although explosions and fires occur through various sources, initially it is thought that such fires occur due to the explosion of gas accumulated in the water tank for a long time, due to leakage or holes in the gas supply line, cylinder or boiler explosion, chemical reaction, high altitude or electrical disturbance.
Unplanned construction of buildings, lack of regular monitoring of constructed buildings, faulty electrical connections and use of electrical appliances, lax fire safety regulations, overpopulation and lack of fire safety awareness are some of the main reasons.
The Department of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense publishes a statistic with all the fire incidents and their causes from 2015 to 2022. Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) analyzed the data received from Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense Directorate for the last 8 years.
A review of the results obtained from the study shows that the number of annual fires has increased every year from the previous year, with a few exceptions in 2016 and 2019.
A review of these statistics shows that a total of 162,426 fires have occurred in the last 9 years and the year 2022 has seen the highest number of fires compared to any other year. Therefore, year 2022 is ranked 1st and the year 2019 and 2021 are ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Everyone in the workplace or the responsible person should know how to operate fire extinguishers and if necessary, authorities should train all their officers and employees in handling fire extinguishers.
Fire-safety equipment must be properly installed and regularly maintained as required by law. Emergency exits should always be kept open and unobstructed. In high-rise buildings and factories, an exit map for safe exit from each room or floor should be posted in a place where everyone can see it.
A fire alarm should be provided in the building. Matches and gas lighters should be used with caution and kept in a safe place. All households and 18% of the total employees of an organization should be given fire safety training.
Fire safety rules should be strictly followed by everyone. Fires can break out at any time so always be alert. In case of fire, the main electrical connection should be disconnected immediately. Be as slow and steady as possible during a fire.
The emergency telephone number of fire service and civil defense should be memorized by everyone and should be reported to them quickly. Firefighters must continue to extinguish the fire from a safe distance until emergency vehicles arrive.
Try to extinguish the fire using fire extinguishers. Do not pour water on electrical lines, oil fires, or any machine or appliance. A fire alarm should be sounded or some special signal should be given to warn everyone.
(Writer is Dean, Faculty of Science, Chairman, Dept. of Environmental Science, Stamford University Bangladesh, Joint Secretary, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) & Chairman, Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS). Address: 51 Siddeswari Road (Ramna), Dhaka-1217, Bangladesh, Mobile: +88-01712-017725, E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected].)
