Safety first

Recently, a fire broke out in a cardboard factory at Azizabad, Karachi. The incident left three workers injured. According to the fire department, there was no fire-fighting system or emergency exit in the factory. Back in 2012, a deadliest fire incident occurred in a garments factory at Baldia, Karachi, resulting in the death of over 250 workers. Nobody could get out of the building as the windows were permanently closed using iron-grill all around. As a result, all the inmates died due to suffocation. A large number of buildings – commercial or residential – in the city are covered with iron grills. In case of fire in any of these buildings, it would be impossible to evacuate the inmates. Nobody would even be able to jump out of the balcony which is permanently closed using iron grill. Sadly, here in Pakistan, there’s no culture of installing an emergency staircase in the buildings.

To avoid such incidents in the future, the provincial government should strictly order builders to keep fire-fighting equipment in all buildings and also have an emergency exit in every building. Also, covering the balconies with grills should be prohibited. The snorkels should be available with the fire department to cope with fire incidents in high-rise buildings. The snorkels should be equipped with required quantity of water and foam at all times.

Air-Cdre (r) Azfar A Khan

Karachi