The government has improved fire safety measures in the Ready Made Garment sector but failed to make any headway in the protection of residential and commercial buildings from the hazard.
Most buildings in the capital Dhaka are constructed without following the safety code of firefighting. High rise buildings are being constructed in every part of the city for extensive population pressure.
The construction of these structures often violates directives from the Fire Service and Civil Defence, lacking essential fire prevention measures such as alarms, adequate water supplies and fire extinguishing systems. The result is a cityscape riddled with potential fire traps, posing a constant threat to its inhabitants.
The Bailey Road catastrophe is not an isolated incident but a continuation of Dhakas grim legacy of fire tragedies. Experts point to a systemic lack of accountability and supervision, with buildings across the capital flouting fire safety norms and regulations. The blaze at a building housing several restaurants on Bailey Road, which claimed 46 lives, marking yet another dark chapter in Dhakas ongoing saga of preventable disasters.
As per BNBC 2006, the standard value of area required per person is 18 square metres (minimum), irrespective to the locality. Special conditions of high-density localities like Old Dhaka were not considered in BNBC 2006. In the updated version of BNBC, this special condition was considered and minimum standard condition for high-density metropolitan city was suggested.
Lt Col Razaul Karim, Director (training, planning and development) at the Fire Service and Civil Defence said, "Only one staircase in such a commercial building is unacceptable. This is a major flaw in fire safety protocol," "The building housed several restaurants, and gas cylinders were scattered along the staircase, which helped the fire spread quickly," he said.
The recurrence of fire incidents is further compounded by the failure to follow up on investigations after each tragedy. Dhaka has borne witness to several catastrophic fires, including those at Nimtoli, Churihatta, FR Tower, Armanitola, New Market, Moghbazar, and the latest disaster at Bailey Road. These incidents share common threads: Mismanagement, the utilisation of risky multi-storied buildings, and a glaring lack of proper supervision, with many buildings operating without the requisite approvals from RAJUK and other regulatory bodies.
On November 24 in 2012, some 117 Tazreen Fashions garment workers were killed and more than 200 others injured in a massive fire at the factory in Nishchintapur of Ashulia. After this incidents the Accord And The Alliance.
and other international agencies worked closely with the government for fire safety in the RMG sector.
Although both the Accord and the Alliance share the same goal of preventing fires and safety of buildings in the country the residential and commercial buildings remained neglected, according to sources.
The aftermath of the Bailey Road tragedy has seen calls for comprehensive measures, including the online registration of buildings with detailed usage information, and the public display of notices issued by the government against non-compliant building owners.
Ashraful Islam, the Project Director of the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of RAJUK, clarified that the Bailey Road building was authorized only for office use, not for restaurants and showrooms, underscoring the illegal operations that contributed to the tragedy.
The police identified numerous restaurants operating within the building in violation of its approved use. Gas cylinders were stockpiled by the restaurants, highlighting a dangerous collusion between building owners and managers.
As many as 124 people were killed and 50 were injured as a transformer exploded at Nimtoli of Chankharpool on June 3 in 2010. A total of 71 people died while several hundred people were injured when a gas cylinder exploded at Wahed Mansion in Churihatta of Chawk Bazar area on February 20 in 2019. At least 27 people died and scores were injured as a fire broke out at the multi-purpose FR Tower on March 28 in 2019. At least twelve people were killed and 200 people were injured in an explosion at a building in Moghbazar Wireless area on June 27 in 2021. A number of shops were gutted in a fire which broke out at Bangabazar Complex on April 4 in 2023. Close to 6,000 stores were gutted, resulting in a loss of at least Tk 10 billion.
