Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

Death procession continues in fire, who is liable?

Published : Wednesday, 14 July, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1196
Md Zillur Rahaman
Md Zillur Rahaman

Md Zillur Rahaman

Rescuers of Fire Service and Civil Defense have already recovered the bodies of at least 52 people from the factory of Sajib Group's Hashem Food and Beverage Limited in RupganjUpazila of Narayanganj. The death toll could rise further, rescuers said. It has been alleged that most of the deaths were due to the locked gate of the stairs on the fourth floor of the building. The bodies of 49 people have been recovered from just one place and rescuers say the bodies were burned in such a way that those were beyond recognition. Pathetically the fire has claimed not only some valuable lives, also many dreams.

The fire service initially complained that the factory building had no fire extinguisher. As they said, 'Huge cartoons on the ground floor and various combustible materials scattered may cause this horror. The fire could have spread from the cartoon on downstairs. There were various machines and equipmenton the upper floors. Death toll rose because those trapped inside during the accident were not allowed to get out. So far in all the factories or buildings, where fires have taken place, a common complaint has been that the main gate is either locked tightly or the stairs are fully closed.

There are many causes of fire behind each accidents and the main causes of fires are inadequacy of fire-fighting system, unplanned building construction and lack of knowledge about emergency discharge, unauthorized storage of combustible and explosives. In addition, if the fire is not completely extinguished after cooking in the city and village, it may fly in the air and catch the fence of the house; ash fires can fly in the air and cause fire; if the chalk is dried on the stove, the chalk may catch fire. Various investigations have shown that cigarettes, bidis and hookahs can cause fire.

However, the analysis of fire types and reports in different places shows that most of the infernos are caused by electrical short circuits. Most of the time, low quality electrical equipment is being used to provide electrical connections in a hurry and to save cost. As a result, it easily catches fire due to short circuit. One of the main reasons for the fires in the garment industry is that most of the workers in the country smoke. When there is a break, many people stand here and there and smoke. Then, when the bell or siren goes back to work, many people throw away the remnants of cigarettes or bidis. The little fire of that left in the cigarette filter heats up the inner heat even more and burns everything at once like a terrible fire. Mosquito coils can also start a fire.

The fire service says a major fire in the last 10 years occurred in 2010 at Nimtali, old Dhaka leaving124 killed. The following year, 111 people lost their lives in a fire at Tazreen Fashions in Ashulia, Savar, in 2016, 41 people died in a fire at the Tampaco Foils factory in Tongi. There were 14,682 fires across the country in 2010 in which 271 people were killed and 794 injured. In 2011, 365 people were killed and 1,479 injured in 15,815 accidents. On December 14, 2010, 29 people were killed in Sports Wear in Ashulia.

Similarly, 210 people were killed and 803 injured in 2012. 161 were killed and 1,471 injured in 2013, 70 killed and 250 injured in 2014, 68 killed and 254 injured in 2015, 52 killed and 267 injured in 2016. 45 were killed and 284 injured in 2017 and 130 killed and 677 injured in 2018. This caused a financial loss of over Tk 4,000 crore. Out of 19,642 fires in 2018, 7,825 fires were due to electrical disturbances. There were 3,449 fires from stove fires and 3,108 from cigarette fires.

In June 2010, 124 people were killed in a fire at a chemical factory in Nimtali. On February 20, 2019, a terrible fire broke out at Waheed Mansion in Churihatta, Chawkbazar of the capital. The fire was spreadfrom chemical godownthere. The blaze killed at least 72 people and injured dozens more. There are also frequent small fires in chemical godowns. Ever since the Nimtali incident, there has been talk of relocating old Dhaka's chemical godowns around Dhaka, but to date it has not been implemented.

At one time there were reports of fires in jute and cotton warehouses. Markets and garments are on fire now and it is mainly in and around the capital. Even supermarkets claiming to be sophisticated and digital have caught fire more than once. Investigations later revealed that even in many so-called modern markets, firefighting systems with smoke detectors were not adequate.

Again, there were no trained rescuers. The same is true of Tazreen Garments, which is widely circulated in the country and abroad. Besides, there are incidents of fire in different slums of Dhaka. It goes without saying that there was almost no fire-fighting system including water reserve in Chawkbazar. The same applies to multistoriedhouses and public-private offices.

However, when a fire breaks out in a populated area or factory, the severity of the fire moves us, and the authorities move. In recent years, the fires at Churihatta, Nimtali, Bhashantech in Mirpur, DNCC Kitchen and Super Market in Gulshan-2, Khilgaon Vegetable Market, City Park Bhaban in Mirpur, especially the FR Tower in Banani touched every one of the country.

However, these are not normal deaths, they are like a murder; deaths of a dreams. As per the rules, an investigation committee is formed after each fire to submit a report to the authority concerned. But everything is dissolved in the air due to unseen power, as if no one has any responsibility. If the culprits had been identified and severe punishment could have been ensured against them, such arson or silent killings would not have taken place. Even if the killings were caused by fire, others, in addition to being vigilant, took the necessary measures to prevent the fire. We do not want to see the procession of death in such a fire, and we want exemplary punishment for the guilty.

The writer is a banker and freelance columnist




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