DU lacks effective fire safety measures

With plush green lawns, age-old buildings with high beams and columns and large corridors, Dhaka University (DU) campuses in the capital boast of picture-perfect idyllic landscapes for higher education. Amid the pomp and glory of what DU is, there lies a bitter truth: the campus as a whole lacks almost any sort of fire safety measures, putting the lives of thousands of its students at risk.

In November 2017, the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) of Bangladesh visited 5,207 organizations of divisional cities of the country and made a list of their fire safety measures. Most of the buildings of DU were on the list of ‘vulnerable’ and ‘highly vulnerable’ buildings that could potentially catch fire. Unfortunately, two years have passed since then, but no visible progress has been made to make those buildings safe.

According to the DU registry office, the total number of students in DU is 37,018 and there are 18 residential halls for them. About two-thirds of the students of this university stay in these residential halls. Altogether, almost a hundred thousand people are staying in different buildings including multi-storied residential buildings for teachers and staffs, 10 faculty buildings, institutional buildings, administrative buildings, auditoriums, and school and college laboratories.

In these buildings classes, examinations and official activities run from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. But most of these buildings do not have any fire safety systems. According to statistics of 2018, there were 19,642 fire incidents across the country. These incidents happened due to 20 reasons, says the Fire Service and Civil Defence department. Out of which 39 per cent of fire incidents occurred due to short circuits, 18 per cent due to stove fire, 15 per cent from cigarette’s fire, 3 per cent from open fire lamps, another 3 per cent from fuel, one per cent due to flying sparks from chimneys. In addition, 1.5 per cent of the incidents happened from frictions of machines, 3.5 from misfire, 0.38 percent incidents happened on ships and airplanes, and rest of the 7 per cent happened for unknown reasons.

Experts says DU also can face devastating fire accidents from short circuits, leakage from old gas pipes, cylinder explosions, and even cigarette.

Gas cylinders used in shops and cafeterias, electric heaters and utilities used in students' rooms in residential halls and other buildings can cause major fire accidents any time.

Among the ten faculties, the Arts Faculty building is the most populated and the largest building of DU. Almost a thousand people are present there every day.

Visiting that building, our correspondent saw around 70-80 fire extinguisher were kept in that 6-storied building. But none of them had validity dates. They had expired in June last year but no steps have been taken to install new extinguishers.

Even the expiry date labels of most of these extinguishers in the Arts and Social Science Buildings have been removed. According to experts, such fire-extinguishers that have crossed the expiry date are mostly ineffective when the need arises. Asked about this, DU Proctor Professor Dr. Golam Rabbani said, “Actually every building is under a particular institute’s respective authority.

Their responsibility is to look after their own arrangements. My responsibility is to maintain order and peace on the university campus, not about the facilities in each building. As I have come to know about this matter now, we'll work on this issue.”

When The Independent asked the staff at the various halls and academic buildings about fire safety precautions and the use of extinguishers, they said they did not know how to do use those devices. Ashfaq Niloy, a student of the Mass Communication and Journalism Department, who was angry about the neglect of a serious matter like fire safety, said, "I've been studying here for two and half years but no workshop or fire drill has been held during this time. The extinguishers we have are expired equipment, and even if they were not, most of us probably don't know how to do use them."

What are the preparations made by the university and general students do deal with an incident of fire? Are there any preparatory exercises, or does the university have central fire prevention unit? When these questions were put to Proctor Rabbani, he  said, “We don't have a fire prevention unit. But we have BNCC and Rover Scout teams. Each has three forces. About 600 people work here. They do camp fires.

But how often it happens, I don't know.  However, this number is not enough to cover the entire university. It's true we didn’t do any fire drill with the general students. We'll work with them on this matter."

With concern about the fire safety of DU, Deputy Assistant Director (Fire and Safety)  of Bangladesh Fire Safety and Civil Defence Khandaker Abdul Jalil, who is also in charge of fire safety of the DU area, talked with The Independent expressing anxiety and stressed the importance of training. “Not only DU but the overall fire safety management of almost all educational institutions is very weak. If any accident occurs, Dhaka University's infrastructure and narrow roads will make things difficult.

As the equipment we use for multi-storied buildings are not suitable for those narrow streets. There is no fire-fighting system in DU except fire extinguishing cylinders. There is no fire evacuation plan, alarm, fire stand, water riser, hydrant, pump or any kind of safety measures.

Even alternative fire doors do not exist. And the cylinder usage is to use into the fire in around one minute and 30 seconds of the incident. This is the primary level management. Even there is a trained manpower crisis."

"We have sufficient capacity to arrange workshops regarding ‘Fire Safety and First Aid’. We can do so if the DU administration sends application for training to our Director General. We can provide the assistance," he added.  

Last year, during the quota reform movement on April 9, some miscreants vandalized and torched furniture and other belongings at the DU VC’s residence, and also torched three cars inside the compound.  Senior Station Officer Saiful Islam of Palashi Barrack Fire Station, who had the responsibility to control the fire, said, “On that day we did not find any arrangement for additional water supply.

Apart from this, there is also not enough underground water reserves in DU.  Water pump connections are also kept with within grills. If water supply is needed in case of an accident, cutting this iron grill will be time-consuming. That will only increase the extent of the damage."

Analyzing the reasons of fire accidents, it is seen that mismanagement and lack of awareness are mainly responsible. This problem has been persisting for years. Teachers and students have appealed to the authorities to take necessary measures to prevent and control fire incident in the DU Campus.

 

DU lacks effective fire safety measures

With plush green lawns, age-old buildings with high beams and columns and large corridors, Dhaka University (DU) campuses in the capital boast of picture-perfect idyllic landscapes for higher education. Amid the pomp and glory of what DU is, there lies a bitter truth: the campus as a whole lacks almost any sort of fire safety measures, putting the lives of thousands of its students at risk. In November 2017, the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) of Bangladesh visited 5,207 organizations of divisional cities of the country and made a list of their fire safety measures. Most of the buildings of DU were on the list of vulnerable and highly vulnerable buildings that could potentially catch fire. Unfortunately, two years have passed since then, but no visible progress has been made to make those buildings safe. According to the DU registry office, the total number of students in DU is 37,018 and there are 18 residential halls for them. About two-thirds of the students of this university stay in these residential halls. Altogether, almost a hundred thousand people are staying in different buildings including multi-storied residential buildings for teachers and staffs, 10 faculty buildings, institutional buildings, administrative buildings, auditoriums, and school and college laboratories. In these buildings classes, examinations and official activities run from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. But most of these buildings do not have any fire safety systems. According to statistics of 2018, there were 19,642 fire incidents across the country. These incidents happened due to 20 reasons, says the Fire Service and Civil Defence department. Out of which 39 per cent of fire incidents occurred due to short circuits, 18 per cent due to stove fire, 15 per cent from cigarettes fire, 3 per cent from open fire lamps, another 3 per cent from fuel, one per cent due to flying sparks from chimneys. In addition, 1.5 per cent of the incidents happened from frictions of machines, 3.5 from misfire, 0.38 percent incidents happened on ships and airplanes, and rest of the 7 per cent happened for unknown reasons. Experts says DU also can face devastating fire accidents from short circuits, leakage from old gas pipes, cylinder explosions, and even cigarette. Gas cylinders used in shops and cafeterias, electric heaters and utilities used in students rooms in residential halls and other buildings can cause major fire accidents any time. Among the ten faculties, the Arts Faculty building is the most populated and the largest building of DU. Almost a thousand people are present there every day. Visiting that building, our correspondent saw around 70-80 fire extinguisher were kept in that 6-storied building. But none of them had validity dates. They had expired in June last year but no steps have been taken to install new extinguishers. Even the expiry date labels of most of these extinguishers in the Arts and Social Science Buildings have been removed. According to experts, such fire-extinguishers that have crossed the expiry date are mostly ineffective when the need arises. Asked about this, DU Proctor Professor Dr. Golam Rabbani said, Actually every building is under a particular institutes respective authority. Their responsibility is to look after their own arrangements. My responsibility is to maintain order and peace on the university campus, not about the facilities in each building. As I have come to know about this matter now, well work on this issue. When The Independent asked the staff at the various halls and academic buildings about fire safety precautions and the use of extinguishers, they said they did not know how to do use those devices. Ashfaq Niloy, a student of the Mass Communication and Journalism Department, who was angry about the neglect of a serious matter like fire safety, said, Ive been studying here for two and half years but no workshop or fire drill has been held during this time. The extinguishers we have are expired equipment, and even if they were not, most of us probably dont know how to do use them. What are the preparations made by the university and general students do deal with an incident of fire? Are there any preparatory exercises, or does the university have central fire prevention unit? When these questions were put to Proctor Rabbani, he said, We dont have a fire prevention unit. But we have BNCC and Rover Scout teams. Each has three forces. About 600 people work here. They do camp fires. But how often it happens, I dont know. However, this number is not enough to cover the entire university. Its true we didnt do any fire drill with the general students. Well work with them on this matter. With concern about the fire safety of DU, Deputy Assistant Director (Fire and Safety) of Bangladesh Fire Safety and Civil Defence Khandaker Abdul Jalil, who is also in charge of fire safety of the DU area, talked with The Independent expressing anxiety and stressed the importance of training. Not only DU but the overall fire safety management of almost all educational institutions is very weak. If any accident occurs, Dhaka Universitys infrastructure and narrow roads will make things difficult. As the equipment we use for multi-storied buildings are not suitable for those narrow streets. There is no fire-fighting system in DU except fire extinguishing cylinders. There is no fire evacuation plan, alarm, fire stand, water riser, hydrant, pump or any kind of safety measures. Even alternative fire doors do not exist. And the cylinder usage is to use into the fire in around one minute and 30 seconds of the incident. This is the primary level management. Even there is a trained manpower crisis. We have sufficient capacity to arrange workshops regarding Fire Safety and First Aid. We can do so if the DU administration sends application for training to our Director General. We can provide the assistance, he added. Last year, during the quota reform movement on April 9, some miscreants vandalized and torched furniture and other belongings at the DU VCs residence, and also torched three cars inside the compound. Senior Station Officer Saiful Islam of Palashi Barrack Fire Station, who had the responsibility to control the fire, said, On that day we did not find any arrangement for additional water supply. Apart from this, there is also not enough underground water reserves in DU. Water pump connections are also kept with within grills. If water supply is needed in case of an accident, cutting this iron grill will be time-consuming. That will only increase the extent of the damage. Analyzing the reasons of fire accidents, it is seen that mismanagement and lack of awareness are mainly responsible. This problem has been persisting for years. Teachers and students have appealed to the authorities to take necessary measures to prevent and control fire incident in the DU Campus.