Fire safety laws

Recently, during the course of hearing of a petition in the Sindh High Court relating to frequent fire incidents in Karachi, many startling shortcomings with regard to implementation of fire safety laws have come to light. Around 80% buildings in Karachi had no emergency exit as builders ignored fire safety measures during construction, the Civil Defence secretary claimed at the hearing. He alleged that the Sindh Building Control Authority did not provide the Civil Defence the building plans approved by it. He informed the court that fire tenders could not reach numerous buildings at many places in the city due to construction faults, and the spaces meant for installation of fire-fighting equipment had been put to other uses.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar expressed displeasure over the lax enforcement or non-implementation of fire safety laws, saying often fires broke out in factories and other buildings. He wondered if fire safety laws existed, why they were not being implemented. The views of the honourable judge echo with those of the common people who are asking the authorities the same question considering that several fire incidents have lately occurred in this overcrowded city. The court also emphasised the need for updating the fire safety laws and ordered the authorities to take steps to enable people to get immediate response from the relevant departments in case of fires, because now more often than not fire engines reach the fire site after much delay causing deaths and injuries as well as destruction of goods and property.

There are many congested localities in the city where fire tenders can only enter with great difficulty. What makes matters worse is that these areas have large numbers of warehouses. So there is a need to adopt modern techniques of fire-fighting together with the use of fire tenders. Over the years, the city’s fire department has remained much neglected and people have been paying the price of official lethargy. We all aspire to utopia, but the prevailing situation shows that we are moving towards dystopia. Fire and water know nothing of mercy.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2020.

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