Inferno: A megacity under threat
by Parvez Ahmad
I once met an old man who had just lost all his savings, old notes kept in a metal box, which melted in the intense heat of a blaze that had engulfed the slum where he lived. And then there were the distraught students who had lost all their academic certificates in the fire.
As a photographer, I have been documenting fire accidents in Dhaka city for the past three years. Whenever I was on spot, I witnessed common people, especially slum inhabitants, risking their lives to save others or their belongings, along with fire brigade rescue teams. And in most cases, they lost everything as local firefighting measures are almost never enough.
Dhaka has been experiencing a high rate of urbanisation in the past few decades. Presently, more than 15 million people are living in the ever-expanding megacity. The development trend of the capital is such that it seems to be growing in a vertical direction to cope with the extensive population pressure.
Nowadays, multi-storey buildings are being constructed in every part of the city. But in most cases, the high rises are being constructed without following any planning regulations. Also, existing planning rules are insufficient in the present context of the city.
Thus, the fire hazard vulnerability of city residents has increased due to reckless building construction and flouting of fire protection laws. The capital city has seen some terrible fire accidents in recent times. The absence of proper precautionary measures, along with inadequate equipment support and lack of public awareness, make the situation worse, particularly in the dry winter months. The city also lacks proper building codes, and thats why one finds apartment buildings alongside industrial units and slums.
The worst sufferers in any fire incident are often the slum-dwellers, who hardly have any savings or another place to stay. In most cases, they lose everything and become homeless after a blaze.
Other vulnerable city areas are those with lots of garments factories. Most factories do not follow fire safety rules, putting their workers lives at risk. In 2012, a devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions killed at least 117 people and injured over 200. In a recent post-fire inspection, the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Authority found that about 60 per cent of the factories did not have adequate firefighting equipment.
Most factories also have no backup power for emergency lighting, adequate ventilation systems or emergency fire exits. So, whenever a fire breaks out, a factory is plunged into darkness and gets filled quickly with flames and fumes, which intensify the chaos and panic of those trapped inside.
Also, as most people do not know how to use fire-fighting equipment or what to do in case of a fire, most safety measures generally go in vain. So often, workers get puzzled and trapped in a fire.
I have seen many workers rushing to the toilet to save themselves, but many of them died from suffocation as there is no proper ventilation in the tiny spaces, said Boshir Ahmed Khan, a voluntary rescue worker who rescued dozens of people from the rubble of the Rana Plaza disaster.
Experts, meanwhile, believe that institutional reforms and strengthening capacity at individual level is required to reduce fire hazard risks of Dhaka city. And the authorities and the public need to follow building codes and fire safety rules to protect the city and its people from fire hazards.
Reference: Planning Review 2008, Jahangirnagar University.
