At least 13 people, including two women, were burnt to death as a fire swept through a Styrofoam package factory in Mirpur-1 on Saturday. Locals said the entire six-storey factory building called APCCO Complex, close to Sony Cinema Hall, erupted in flames following an explosion around 5:25pm. At least 64 workers were inside the building when the fire broke out.
The fire is not the first, nor would it be the last industrial accident to occur in Bangladesh. Unfortunately such industrial incidents like the Rana Plaza collapse or the Tazreen factory incident and fires occur because the management in charge are most negligent in discharging their duties. In this case the fire could spread very quickly due to gas cylinders exploding on the first floor — our question remains how could gas cylinders burst unless they were not checked properly for durability or were unfit for use in the first place.
At least eight bodies were found — that’s almost one eight of the total workforce there, not including the ones who were burnt. Thankfully this didn’t occur in a garment factory where main gates and entrances to floors along with windows are routinely locked or have grilles to prevent workers from stealing. But the question of saving their lives in the case of accidents remains a matter lost to the owners of such factories — many factories remain non-compliant and have no provision for either fire escapes or fire escape ladders to allow workers to flee.
These facts are just the tip of the iceberg. Most workers cant read or write and yet no manuals or fire safety drills are conducted to prepare them for what would happen in the case of a fire or other accident. Even more unluckier are the ones who work in buildings which are structurally unsafe due to faults in the design or implementation of the building — although these firms will probably relocate to other buildings.
The faults lie with all the stakeholders of these industries — in the case of RMG, a critical sector, it lies with the owners, who would try to do the same with the workers, if the government didn’t try to instill a minimum wage. It lies with the banks who collude in corruption when the factory owners ask for loans. It lies with the government officials who look the other way when substandard buildings are used in non industrial and unsafe locations — at great risk to both workers and nearby residents, as in the case of the chemical factories of Old Dhaka. The solutions are evident to all, only the will to implement is needed.
Our anxiety is that why the ministries concerned cannot do enough to make industries safe for the workers. We find absence of ‘sense of duty’ among the government officials. Loss of lives of others is not a of matter anxiety to them.
