Be it Dhaka North City Corporation Market in Gulshan, FR Tower in Banani or the recent, Shezan Juice Factory in Naraynganj- we have many examples of sad and preventable fire incidents all over Dhaka and the outskirts of the capital. For those who have lost loved ones in these incidents, it is even worse to know how unnecessary these incidents were and how easily they could have been prevented, had proper laws been followed.
According to the law, or more specifically, the Bangladesh National Building Codes, any building beyond six stories is considered a high-rise building. Before completing the construction of such buildings, owners must have the necessary firefighting equipment in the building premises and take approval from The Fire Safety SOP, a 27-pager document which says that buildings need approval from eleven different authoritative bodies, including the Fire Service department. This approval is given in the form of an NOC (No Objection Certificate) only after the fire service department thoroughly checks all equipment and makes sure the building is in compliance with all fire safety design requirements.
Unfortunately, post the FR Tower tragedy where it was found that the building, along with many others in the same area, were not complying, the government found upwards of 65% of buildings in the city that were in non-compliance of the law – and these are just government numbers. The actual percentage may be way higher. Needless to say, out of eleven, most settle for two or three approvals and then glide by with the help of grease money.
According to the same document, every building must have regular fire drills and evacuation procedures in place, along with a first aid and firefighting plan, adequate training for each occupant in first aid and firefighting (rented or owned) and responsibilities for the same occupants with regards to assuming key roles during a fire incident, if it occurs. If we talk about the fire fighting equipment at length, rest assured these are not just regular fire extinguishers that we see on buildings and beside elevators.
We are talking about the real deal here – fire hydrants and a sprinkler system installed every 10 feet that turns on automatically if the building temperature rises above 62 degrees. We are talking about fire alarms and smoke detectors in every room, smoke vents in each room, heat detectors, flame detectors, rate-of-rise-heat detectors, ionization chamber smoke detectors and chemically sensitive smoke detectors. We are talking the whole nine yards. In most cases, the firemen who go to the affected area to tame the flames arrive at the scene expecting these paraphernalia installed but most cannot find the existence of any.
Post the FR Tower tragedy where it was found that the building, along with many others in the same area, were not complying, the government found upwards of 65% of buildings in the city that were in non-compliance of the law
Chapter 4 of the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 talks about how, if a building needs repair or alteration work, it should be evacuated, unless the safety measures and escape route plans are impeccably maintained. The FR Tower, as we know, was under various stages of disrepair and was constantly being warned about the impending risks.
For any building, high-rise or otherwise, an escape route is as important in the incident of a mishap or lack of training and equipment. In fact, the surest way to save lives is through a solid escape route. And here we come to a contradiction, of sorts. Rule 17 (1) of the Building Construction Rules 1996 says that buildings with 500 or more residents at any given time must have (at least) two staircases and separate fire exits with fire and smoke resistant doors on each floor, connecting to floors below, as alternate escape routes.
Chapter 4 of the Bangladesh National Building Code 2006 mentions that “All buildings constructed for human occupancy or storage shall be provided with adequate exit facilities to permit safe and quick unaided escape of the occupants in the event of fire or other emergency.” In the FR Tower fire incident and in the most recent Shezan Factory incident, people were seen to be jumping off the buildings in order to escape. That alone should tell you all you need to know about the compliance of having escape routes in non-compliant factory and office buildings.
While we are on the subject of fire safety, escape routes, labour law and its compliance or the lack thereof, let us ponder on another meaty question here – are workers supposed to be locked in during work hours? Word for word, The Factories Act, 1965, Section 22, point 3 states that “In every factory the doors affording exit from any room shall not be locked or fastened so that they can be easily and immediately opened from inside while any person is within the room, and all such doors, unless they are of the sliding type, shall be constructed to open outwards, or where the door is between two rooms, in the direction of the nearest exit from the building and no such door shall be locked or obstructed while work is being carried on in the room.” – Yet somehow, the most recent case of the Shezan Juice Factory suggests that this was indeed what had happened. Doors were locked and hence, despite there being an escape route, (albeit only two in a factory that should have had at least four to five) so many people had to senselessly lose their lives.
The Fire service during the FR Tower incident said they had written to these buildings to take fire safety precautions but the warnings fell on deaf ears. This sounded, to many, like a reactive and defensive statement. It is not that the laws are not there – they are there and they are solid. What is unfortunately lacking, is the responsibility to follow up whether the laws are being adhered to and the accountability thereby. In a country where laws are all too easy to bend, lawmakers need to do more than issue warnings. They need to be proactive and seek out noncompliance and make examples out of the rule benders before they bring the nation another needless tragedy.
