Landhi inferno: Empty factory saved lives in fire far deadlier than Baldia's

Lack of fire safety measures reduce entire factory to ashes

KARACHI: Had it not been Friday when most employees had gone for Friday prayers, the fire that broke out in Landhi's denim factory would have been far deadlier than the one in Baldia in 2012 when over 250 workers died.

It was not until early Saturday morning that the fire fighters were able to put out the fire that started nearly 24 hours ago in the weaving department on the second floor of Rajwani Denim Mills in Landhi.

By Saturday afternoon, the building walls had turned entirely black and a few walls had collapsed. Small flames spilled out of huge openings in the building and flickered as the wind blew.



It was sheer luck that the nearly 300 employees, who are usually on duty during the day shift, had gone for prayers otherwise the poor safety measures at the factory would have proved fatal.

"There was a spark in some electric panel that turned into a fire," said Nadeem Masih, a Christian employee who was present at the factory. There were a few manual extinguishers inside the department that Masih and his colleagues used to douse the fire. These men did not have much luck and the fire quickly spread through the building.

"We shouted for help but no one turned up," he said, adding that they used the stairs to run out of the building. There wasn't any fire emergency exit that was open, he claimed. "We are alive only because we held our breath until we were out of the building."



Another worker, Rehmat Sawati, who was on the ground floor, claimed there was neither any fire alarm nor any sprinkler system installed inside the building. "I came to know about the fire when I started suffocating due to the smoke," he said.

Even Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) chief fire officer Tehseen Siddiqui pointed out there were no safety measures inside the factory.  "They had millions of litres of chemicals but no fire alarm system, no automatic sprinklers or even water tank for fire installed," he pointed out. The only underground water tanker was between two boilers where no one would dare to step during a fire, he added.

The bylaws

According to the Sindh Building Control Authority's (SBCA) bylaws, all the buildings that are ground-plus-three storeys or more should be provided a set of standpipes system, which should be installed in a vertical position to which fire hoses can be connected so that water can be poured manually.



Every standpipe should be equipped with a fire department-approved inlet connection of corrosion-resistive metal. The bylaws also make it mandatory for all ground-plus-three buildings should have automatic, sprinkler systems and proper exits.

All industrial units were given 15 days to implement the prescribed firefighting arrangements and associated protective measures falling under rules of the Civil Defence Act 1951 within 15 days, according to a 2014 notification issued by the then District South deputy commissioner (DC) Mustafa Jamal Kazi, and Korangi DC Zubair Ahmed Channa.

These units are supposed to set up their own civil defence organisation, establish a fire fighting squad and obtain necessary training from the provincial Civil Defence Department. All factories and commercial units are also supposed to establish a 'warning system' and provide adequate 'means of escape'.

Shifting responsibility

Meanwhile, Rajwani Denim Mills general manager Hasnain A Sheikh said it was not their responsibility to provide water to the KMC fire tenders. The first fire brigade reached the spot after 2.5 hours with no backup for water and foam, he complained.



An official of the KMC fire department at the site pointed out that there were as many as 14 fire tenders, two bowsers and one snorkel to put out the fire. "Until 5am, the fire was in its full intensity," he said, adding that the fire died after it had burnt down everything inside the building.

Sheikh also pointed out that no SBCA official has visited the factory after the inferno. The company was examining the structure of the building through its own structural engineers, he said.

However, SBCA spokesperson Farhan Qaiser insisted their team had already visited the building and will pay another visit on Monday after which they will decide whether or not the building needs to be demolished.

As for inspecting bylaws for fire safety, Qaiser said that was the mandate of the Civil Defence department. Sheikh said that the Civil Defence department carries out yearly inspections.