‘90pc of buildings in Karachi lack fire safety arrangements’

Around 12,000 to 15,000 people die in hundreds of fire incidents in the country every year, in which losses of hundreds of billions are also incurred due to violation of building codes, unavailability of fire safety arrangements, and lack of training and awareness among people, said fire safety experts on Wednesday.

They said that over 90 per cent of the industries, residential buildings and structures in Karachi, which is the largest industrial hub of Pakistan, lacked fire safety arrangements as building codes were not being implemented by the authorities concerned. They also called for teaching fire safety measures at school, college and university levels to make people aware of the steps they should take during natural and man-made disasters and calamities.

They made these suggestions during an annual symposium of the Fire Protection Association of Pakistan (FPAP) at a hotel. The event was addressed by caretaker provincial ministers Younus Dagha, Dr Junaid Ali Shah, FPAP President Kanwar Waseem, officials from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Rescue 1122 and corporate sector representatives.

Dominic Ellis, deputy commissioner and operational director for Prevention, Protection and Operational Policy of London, and Rob Llewn of the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations-Asia (CFPA-A) also addressed the symposium through video link.

Addressing the inaugural session, Dr Shah conceded that even a majority of hospitals and educational institutions did not have a firefighting system nor did they offer any space for fire exit.

“Due to such negligence, we see how these fire incidents cause us heavy damages. These fire incidents can be prevented and handled very well if the system remains in place.

The FAPF president mentioned possible reasons behind growing fire incidents in Karachi and lamented that even high number of tragedies had failed to serve as a wakeup call for the regulatory bodies.

“The Building Code Fire Safety Prevention which was prepared by the Pakistan Engineering Council in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority was passed in 2016 but even after seven years, we haven’t moved an inch,” he said.