Dr Matiur Rahman :
A terrible fire accident happened again in the country. On the night of June 4, a fire broke out at the BM container depot at Sitakunda in Chattogram. At least more than 50 people have been killed so far in the blaze. More than hundreds were injured. The wind of Sitakunda has become heavy with the cries of the relatives of the killed and injured persons. At the same time, people across the country are overwhelmed to observe such a terrific fire accident. They do not understand how to bear this grief.
Unexpected fire accidents are happening oneafter another in the country every year. And this fire accident is taking away innumerable lives. The number of deaths and loss of property due to those are increasing every year. It doesn’t seem to be stopping.
According to the statistics of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, the total number of fire accidents in 2021 was 21,601. The number of damages due to it was around 218 crore 31 lakh 97 thousand 403 taka.
The report has revealed many causes of fire accidents but the main cause was an electrical disturbance. This year 7,955 fire accidents occurred due to electrical disturbances, which accounted for 36.82 percent of the total fire accidents.Stoves (electric, gas and earthen stoves, etc.) were cited as the second cause of fire accidents, which caused a total of 3,922 fire accidents that year which is 18.55 per cent of the total fire accidents.
The third cause of the fire accident was the burning of a bidi-cigarette. A total of 3,193 or 14.78 percent of the total fire accidents occurred due to this. A total of 19 causes of fire accidents have been mentioned in the report. However, a total of 3 thousand 282 have been mentioned as unknown causes of fire accidents.
In 2021, 219 people died in fire accidents and 576 people were injured. The highest number of fire accidents in that year was in houses or residential buildings, numbering 5,818. There were 3,544 fire accidents in the kitchen. The number of fires in factories other than the garment industry was 382. The report also highlighted the statistics of fires in different installations for various reasons.
Last year, 52 people died in a horrific fire at the Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj. In the last 5 years, there have been about 1 lakh fire incidents in the country. In the last 15 years, at least 12,000 people have been burned across the country. And more than two thousand died in fire accidents.
Due to carelessness and negligence, countless people are killed and property is damaged in fire accidents every year. There are also small accidents due to short circuits of electricity, gas explosion, combustible chemical storage, and small negligence including the kitchen.
An investigation committee is set up after any fire accident and various precautionary recommendations are made in the investigation report including the causes of the fire. But these recommendations are rarely implemented. According to relevant sources, the investigation committee formed after the horrific fire incident at Nimtali in Old Dhaka in 2010 recommended 17 points. But most of those recommendations have not been implemented. As a result, the risk of fires is increasing across the country.
The main cause of the fire is negligence. And with that comes ignorance. So everyone should be supremely aware of their respective positions. After cooking, the fire in the oven should be completely extinguished. Extinguish the burning part of the cigarette and put it in a safe place. In addition, smoking in factories should be completely banned. Young children should be prevented from playing with fire.
Doors and windows must be opened and gas connections and lines must be checked regularly before lighting a gas stove.Regularly inspect the electrical cables and fittings of the building by an experienced electrician. Must have basic training in fire prevention, firefighting, rescue and first aid from homes, factories and civil defence. Regular exercises should be organized with the help of the fire service.
To ensure the safety of any building, fire safety must be ensured by following the building construction rules or building code.In every industrial, government and private building fire prevention and extinguishing fire prevention system should be implemented following the rules and regulations. There should be an auto-fire alarming system so that everyone can be alerted immediately in case of fire.There should be an exit sign on each floor of the building or factories so that it can be seen even in the dark. In case of fire, call 999 for fire service.
Everyone has to know about the causes of the fire accident. We have to learn how to deal with these accidents. We have to be aware. We all have to follow the rules and act accordingly. And those who do not obey these must be brought under appropriate punishment. We all have to be responsible for our people and our country. Unexpected fire accidents must be prevented.
(The writer is a researcher
and development worker).
