Victims of Lahore, Karachi fire incidents remembered

LAHORE:The Emergency Services Department commemorated the victims of Baldia Town, Karachi, and Bund Road, Lahore Factory fires as both fire incidents in Lahore and Karachi were like 9/11 of Pakistan, in which 314 people lost their lives in these factory fires on 11th September, 2012.

This is also a special day for Emergency Services internationally as on this day in New York over 400 Fire Rescuers and Paramedics lost their lives while trying to save the lives of victims trapped in the Twin Towers of New York.

In this regard, a special event was organised at the Emergency Services Academy in remembrance of the victims of these Twin Fire Emergencies of Lahore, Karachi, and New York. One minute silence was observed and special prayers were offered for the victims.

The Secretary Emergency Services Department, Dr Rizwan Naseer briefed the under-training rescuers about these tragic incidents, and lessons learned were also shared with them for a better understanding of such difficult rescue and firefighting operations. He stated that around 300 lives were lost in these incidents of fire at Baldia Town Karachi garment fire & Bund Road Lahore factory fire. He said that Fire Service of Rescue 1122 has saved losses worth over Rs650 billion by responding to over 217,000 fire incidents across the province.

The secretary said that the Punjab Emergency Service Department has established a modern Fire Service in all districts of Punjab and the Service is continuously organising fire safety awareness and training to the owners/ employees of high rise/ high-risk buildings so that preventive measures of building safety as per building bylaws may be implemented which shall ultimately reduce the number of fire emergencies. But there is a dire need to implement Building Safety Regulation 2022 if we want to prevent these emergencies in the future.

Dr Rizwan Naseer appealed to the business community and high rise building owners to ensure the implementation of Building Safety Regulation 2022 and do not risk their lives and investment to save a small amount spent on the installation of fire safety provisions. He further added that ensuring safety is the responsibility of all of us; otherwise, the best fire services of the world cannot be effective without the implementation of fire safety codes. He emphasised to have proper emergency exits in high-rise buildings and any violation of building regulations are disasters. The media should also play their role in awareness about the importance of installation of fire safety equipment in peacetime, he added.