Another fatal fire

We were expecting that there would be a reduction in industrial fires after the blaze inside a garment factory, the worst industrial disaster in the history of Pakistan, in Karachi in 2012 but it was not to be. Every year fires erupt in factories killing workers. Such tragedies occur due to the absence of proper fire safety measures in the workplace. Fatal fires occur in all major cities. On Tuesday night, a fire inside a factory killed three workers and injured several others, including a fire department official. One of the workers had safely exited the building but he re-entered the building to help save other workers trapped inside, but he died in the rescue effort.

There are conflicting claims about why the fire engulfed the whole factory. The factory management says the fire engines arrived at the site at 1am though they were informed about the incident around 11:15pm when the flames started. It further said fire tenders arrived at intervals. The fire department stated that the complaint was received at 11:35pm when only one fire tender was available at the area fire station, and it was sent over immediately. The fire started on the ground floor, where a warehouse of the factory was located, and it soon spread to other floors of the three-storey building. Since the factory manufactured threads, the material acted as a fast spreader of the fire.

The building is said to lack fire safety measures and equipment. It has only one entry and exit point and one staircase to climb and descend from one floor to another. The windows were tight shut. There was no emergency exit for use during a fire and other dangers. All this made it difficult to put out the blaze. The regular fire incidents point to the careless attitude of all those concerned to safety issues. As the blame game and cavalier attitude continue, we may well ask: who is to bell the cat?

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2021.

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