Prevention of fire incidents

Similar to the RMG sector, we will have to install mandatory compliance rules for our market and shop owners. They should be instructed to follow strict safety and security guidelines. All our markets and factories should be equipped with a voluntary group of fire-fighters

May Day this year was preceded by weeks of scorching heat with no apparent respite in sight. However in the evening of the first day of this month it rained quite heavily. The showers brought relief to the citizens who were stifling under the hot sun for days on end. Unfortunately in Bangladesh there is hardly any such thing as unmixed blessing. Hardly had the rain subsided a nearly two-hour-long fire burned down at least two hundred shops in the capital’s biggest wholesale market at Karwan Bazar. Most of the razed shops are reported to have been depots of spices scattered along a tin-shed market called Hasina Market, located just behind a multi-storied building. Thankfully while there was huge loss of properties no life was lost. A fire raged through a slum near the capital’s Farmgate area, destroying several shanties. Fire service officials said that the flames erupted around 8:30am on Wednesday at the slum behind the Green Supermarket. Again no casualty was reported.
 However as the readers know people of localities where fire broke out at different times were not always so lucky. The horrific inferno at the Nimtoli area in the old quarters of the city sent shockwaves throughout the country on June 2, 2010. On that day fire claimed at least 123 lives and left hundreds injured. Property worth crores of taka was burnt to ashes. Even after nearly six years many people of the locality are yet to recover from the after effects of the tragedy. The cause of the fire was clear. A residential building was used to store highly flammable chemicals. The chemicals caught fire leading to the devastation.
Unfortunately people have apparently learnt little from the disaster. In the immediate aftermath of Nimtoli inferno experts, NGOs and common people raised a logical demand that storage of such potential deadly substances in residential areas should be banned. The government for once acted promptly and fixed a cut-off date asking the traders to shift the warehouses from the area. Unfortunately three years have gone by and media reports suggest that the chemical traders are still doing business in the locality. The chemical warehouses abound in the old Dhaka and another Nimtoli like tragedy, while shocking will not be expected. Most of these warehouses do not have the necessary papers and government monitoring is virtually non-existent. Such stark apathy for the invaluable human lives is hard to find anywhere in the world.
Learning from tragedies seems to alien to our culture. The old town remains as unsafe as ever for the inhabitants. Localities like Nabab Katra, Bangshal, Siddique Bazar, Sat Rowza, Babu Bazar and Armanitola still have factories with flammable objects stored on their ground floors. Immediately after the incident the authorities did carry out drives for four days sealing off 25 chemical warehouses. However that was about it. The sealed off warehouses are open now and the number of such establishment is about the same now as was the case three years back. Only a few of the warehouses were relocated to Fatullah, Narayanganj.
 One thing that must hurt the dear ones is the fact that no action has been taken yet to punish Mohammad Ohid Ullah Mazumder, owner of the warehouse from where the fire generated in 2010.
According to Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury there are adequate legislations to prevent the fire incident like Nimtoli. "The laws related to building construction and fire safety are adequate. What is missing is enforcement." There must be strict enforcement of building construction act, Bangladesh National Building Code, fire prevention act, building rules, Detailed Area Plan and Dhaka City Corporation ordinance to prevent such tragedy from being repeated.  Educating people about disaster risks, and being alert about dangerous situations  could probably go a long way towards preventing the next disaster. However we do not see any concentrated approach to raise awareness among the populace.
Fires in residences and especially factories are a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. The Tazreen Garment fire is still fresh in our memory. Just recently a fire in another garment factory killed a number of people including one of the owners. As many as 100 workers are killed annually in Bangladesh in fires in garment industries alone.
As the authorities and the management are not doing enough to prevent residential and workplace fires the onus seems to be on the workers and residents themselves. Thankfully the experts believe that certain procedures can help a lot in dealing with fires. Avoiding clutter definitely helps clutter contributes to death and injuries by preventing access to exits and emergency equipment. Electrical hazards must be reported promptly. Many fires start in faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical equipment. Sprinklers and firefighting equipment or emergency exits should never be blocked.
However all these can’t prevent a carnage like Nimtoli. Chemicals must be used  and stored safely. Adequate ventilation when using and storing these substances must be in place. More importantly residential areas are no places for chemical godowns.
 Coming back to the fire outbreak in Karwanbazar–In general, most of our markets are not properly assessed as far as preventing outbreaks of fire is concerned. Not that it’s a new phenomenon, but the fire occurrence dilemma in Bangladesh was never addressed realistically. The exception is the lone RMG sector that radically transformed in the face of mounting national and international pressure. In particular, regarding last Sunday’s fire a common pattern that has been observed in marketplace fires over the past decade,  is this that the large-scale disasters always struck either when the market is empty, shutdown on holidays or in the wee hours when they are closed. So the timing of disaster is in urgent need of prompt and thorough investigations.
This year the continuous fire at the Sundarbans has unfortunately not received much media attention. On April 27 the latest fire broke out in the Dhanshagar station's Nangli forest camp area of Sundarban's Chadpai range, located in the eastern part of the mangrove forest. Those living nearby the Sundarban often enter the forest and set fire to it to collect firewood. The burnt area of the Sundarban goes under water during monsoon and local fishermen use the area to catch fish. What a sheer apathy! It must be news to some readers that only Chandpai Range of the Sundarban has seen 14 incidents of fire in the last 12 years, raging through some 40 acres of forest and causing damage to its unique ecosystem.
Similar to the RMG sector, the authorities must introduce mandatory compliance rules for our market and shop owners. They should be instructed to follow strict safety and security guidelines. All our markets and factories should be equipped with a voluntary group of fire-fighters. Moreover, we must draw lessons in order to thwart potentially dangerous but preventable fire disasters.  A disaster is a blessing in disguise only, when we succeed in taking valuable lessons from it. Otherwise, it is just another event of unfortunate and shocking consequences. We should not allow them to occur.
We end this article with some tips for residents to prevent fires.
Make a fire escape plan with two ways out of the house, plus a designated meeting place once out of the house. Practice the fire escape plan regularly.
Keep an emergency ladder on upper floors of your home in the event of a fire. Keep the ladder in or near the room of an adult or older child capable of using it.
Make sure you have a smoke alarm on every level of your home and in each bedroom. Test smoke alarms monthly and remember to change the batteries twice a year.
Replace smoke alarms that are past their warranty date.
Install a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it.
Get rid of equipment and appliances with old or frayed cords and extension cords that look damaged.
Bind excess cord from lamps or other electrical equipment with a twist-tie to prevent injury from chewing on cords. You also can purchase a holder or spool specially designed to hide extra cord.
Position television and stereo equipment against walls so small hands don't have access to the back surfaces or cords.
Bind any excess cord and unplug lights when they're not in use.
Check electronic toys frequently for signs of wear and tear; any object that sparks, feels hot, or smells unusual must be repaired or discarded immediately.
Choose sleepwear that's have flame-retardant (either polyester or treated cotton). Cotton sweatshirts or pants that do not have as sleepwear generally aren't flame-retardant.
Make sure older kids are especially careful when using irons or curling irons.
Make sure any nightlights aren't touching fabric like bedspreads or curtains.
Keep electric space heaters at least 3 feet (91 centimeters) from beds, curtains, or anything flammable
Keep matches, lighters, chemicals, and lit candles out of kids' reach.
Don't smoke inside, especially when you're tired, taking medication that can cause you to be drowsy, or in bed.
Don't run electrical wires under rugs or carpet.
Don't overload electrical sockets.

The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Prevention of fire incidents

Similar to the RMG sector, we will have to install mandatory compliance rules for our market and shop owners. They should be instructed to follow strict safety and security guidelines. All our markets and factories should be equipped with a voluntary group of fire-fighters

May Day this year was preceded by weeks of scorching heat with no apparent respite in sight. However in the evening of the first day of this month it rained quite heavily. The showers brought relief to the citizens who were stifling under the hot sun for days on end. Unfortunately in Bangladesh there is hardly any such thing as unmixed blessing. Hardly had the rain subsided a nearly two-hour-long fire burned down at least two hundred shops in the capitals biggest wholesale market at Karwan Bazar. Most of the razed shops are reported to have been depots of spices scattered along a tin-shed market called Hasina Market, located just behind a multi-storied building. Thankfully while there was huge loss of properties no life was lost. A fire raged through a slum near the capitals Farmgate area, destroying several shanties. Fire service officials said that the flames erupted around 8:30am on Wednesday at the slum behind the Green Supermarket. Again no casualty was reported. However as the readers know people of localities where fire broke out at different times were not always so lucky. The horrific inferno at the Nimtoli area in the old quarters of the city sent shockwaves throughout the country on June 2, 2010. On that day fire claimed at least 123 lives and left hundreds injured. Property worth crores of taka was burnt to ashes. Even after nearly six years many people of the locality are yet to recover from the after effects of the tragedy. The cause of the fire was clear. A residential building was used to store highly flammable chemicals. The chemicals caught fire leading to the devastation. Unfortunately people have apparently learnt little from the disaster. In the immediate aftermath of Nimtoli inferno experts, NGOs and common people raised a logical demand that storage of such potential deadly substances in residential areas should be banned. The government for once acted promptly and fixed a cut-off date asking the traders to shift the warehouses from the area. Unfortunately three years have gone by and media reports suggest that the chemical traders are still doing business in the locality. The chemical warehouses abound in the old Dhaka and another Nimtoli like tragedy, while shocking will not be expected. Most of these warehouses do not have the necessary papers and government monitoring is virtually non-existent. Such stark apathy for the invaluable human lives is hard to find anywhere in the world. Learning from tragedies seems to alien to our culture. The old town remains as unsafe as ever for the inhabitants. Localities like Nabab Katra, Bangshal, Siddique Bazar, Sat Rowza, Babu Bazar and Armanitola still have factories with flammable objects stored on their ground floors. Immediately after the incident the authorities did carry out drives for four days sealing off 25 chemical warehouses. However that was about it. The sealed off warehouses are open now and the number of such establishment is about the same now as was the case three years back. Only a few of the warehouses were relocated to Fatullah, Narayanganj. One thing that must hurt the dear ones is the fact that no action has been taken yet to punish Mohammad Ohid Ullah Mazumder, owner of the warehouse from where the fire generated in 2010. According to Professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury there are adequate legislations to prevent the fire incident like Nimtoli. The laws related to building construction and fire safety are adequate. What is missing is enforcement. There must be strict enforcement of building construction act, Bangladesh National Building Code, fire prevention act, building rules, Detailed Area Plan and Dhaka City Corporation ordinance to prevent such tragedy from being repeated. Educating people about disaster risks, and being alert about dangerous situations could probably go a long way towards preventing the next disaster. However we do not see any concentrated approach to raise awareness among the populace. Fires in residences and especially factories are a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. The Tazreen Garment fire is still fresh in our memory. Just recently a fire in another garment factory killed a number of people including one of the owners. As many as 100 workers are killed annually in Bangladesh in fires in garment industries alone. As the authorities and the management are not doing enough to prevent residential and workplace fires the onus seems to be on the workers and residents themselves. Thankfully the experts believe that certain procedures can help a lot in dealing with fires. Avoiding clutter definitely helps clutter contributes to death and injuries by preventing access to exits and emergency equipment. Electrical hazards must be reported promptly. Many fires start in faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical equipment. Sprinklers and firefighting equipment or emergency exits should never be blocked. However all these cant prevent a carnage like Nimtoli. Chemicals must be used and stored safely. Adequate ventilation when using and storing these substances must be in place. More importantly residential areas are no places for chemical godowns. Coming back to the fire outbreak in KarwanbazarIn general, most of our markets are not properly assessed as far as preventing outbreaks of fire is concerned. Not that its a new phenomenon, but the fire occurrence dilemma in Bangladesh was never addressed realistically. The exception is the lone RMG sector that radically transformed in the face of mounting national and international pressure. In particular, regarding last Sundays fire a common pattern that has been observed in marketplace fires over the past decade, is this that the large-scale disasters always struck either when the market is empty, shutdown on holidays or in the wee hours when they are closed. So the timing of disaster is in urgent need of prompt and thorough investigations. This year the continuous fire at the Sundarbans has unfortunately not received much media attention. On April 27 the latest fire broke out in the Dhanshagar stations Nangli forest camp area of Sundarbans Chadpai range, located in the eastern part of the mangrove forest. Those living nearby the Sundarban often enter the forest and set fire to it to collect firewood. The burnt area of the Sundarban goes under water during monsoon and local fishermen use the area to catch fish. What a sheer apathy! It must be news to some readers that only Chandpai Range of the Sundarban has seen 14 incidents of fire in the last 12 years, raging through some 40 acres of forest and causing damage to its unique ecosystem. Similar to the RMG sector, the authorities must introduce mandatory compliance rules for our market and shop owners. They should be instructed to follow strict safety and security guidelines. All our markets and factories should be equipped with a voluntary group of fire-fighters. Moreover, we must draw lessons in order to thwart potentially dangerous but preventable fire disasters. A disaster is a blessing in disguise only, when we succeed in taking valuable lessons from it. Otherwise, it is just another event of unfortunate and shocking consequences. We should not allow them to occur. We end this article with some tips for residents to prevent fires. Make a fire escape plan with two ways out of the house, plus a designated meeting place once out of the house. Practice the fire escape plan regularly. Keep an emergency ladder on upper floors of your home in the event of a fire. Keep the ladder in or near the room of an adult or older child capable of using it. Make sure you have a smoke alarm on every level of your home and in each bedroom. Test smoke alarms monthly and remember to change the batteries twice a year. Replace smoke alarms that are past their warranty date. Install a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it. Get rid of equipment and appliances with old or frayed cords and extension cords that look damaged. Bind excess cord from lamps or other electrical equipment with a twist-tie to prevent injury from chewing on cords. You also can purchase a holder or spool specially designed to hide extra cord. Position television and stereo equipment against walls so small hands dont have access to the back surfaces or cords. Bind any excess cord and unplug lights when theyre not in use. Check electronic toys frequently for signs of wear and tear; any object that sparks, feels hot, or smells unusual must be repaired or discarded immediately. Choose sleepwear thats have flame-retardant (either polyester or treated cotton). Cotton sweatshirts or pants that do not have as sleepwear generally arent flame-retardant. Make sure older kids are especially careful when using irons or curling irons. Make sure any nightlights arent touching fabric like bedspreads or curtains. Keep electric space heaters at least 3 feet (91 centimeters) from beds, curtains, or anything flammable Keep matches, lighters, chemicals, and lit candles out of kids reach. Dont smoke inside, especially when youre tired, taking medication that can cause you to be drowsy, or in bed. Dont run electrical wires under rugs or carpet. Dont overload electrical sockets. The writer is Assistant Editor of The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]