Citizens, authorities ignore fire safety

Deaths of 10 family members in narrow street of Walled City shocks metropolis

LAHORE:

The death of 10 members of a family in a fire in the Taxali Gate area shocked the residents of the provincial capital during the past week.

The tragic incident of death of the family members due to suffocation took place in the Walled City on Wednesday.

Rescue 1122 had received the distress call for help at around 2am.

Reportedly, three families had been living in the three-storey building over less than two marla of land in the congested area of Samian Mohallah in the Lahore Walled City.

According to residents of the locality, the occupants had fallen asleep when the fire broke out in the house.

The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, but initial investigations suggested that it had broken out in the lower portion of the house and spread upward.

When the family members woke up, the fire had already spread and they could not run out to save their lives as the electric supply in the house had stopped and there was no light.

They reportedly ran to the upper floor of the house and were trapped there.

The house was filled with smoke due to the flames and the victims died of suffocation.

The house was situated in narrow street, because of which rescue workers had to face a lot of difficulties to reach the place to launch an operation to evacuate the victims.

The deceased included women and children. They have been identified as Saira Bano 60, Sonu Ijaz Hussain, 14, Amber Waris Ali, 25, Alam Dar, son of Waris Ali, seven, Monu, son of Ijaz Hussain, 14, Adil Hussain, son of Babar Ali, 16, Anzal Fatima, daughter of Waris Ali, Sania Ijaz Hussain, 18, Seemab Ijaz Hussain, 13, and Farzana Ijaz Hussain, 40.

The Walled City is the most congested area of Lahore. It is overpopulated. There have been several deadly fire incidents in the area.

Hindrance in rescue operations, mainly limited access, has resulted in a number of fatalities in the incidents.

Disregard for fire safety protocols by owners of the residential as well as commercial buildings, including high-rising structures, is also rampant in other areas of the provincial capital. Following safety protocols has not developed as a culture. The violations cause difficulties in emergency operations, resulting in escalation of the loss of property as well as lives after accidents.

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) had conducted a survey of 250 high-rise buildings in Lahore four years back and had astonishingly found that none had been following fire safety protocols.

As many as 29 buildings lacked emergency staircases, 12 fire exit doors, 24 had no hydrant system, 152 did not have any fire extinguisher, 55 were without fire alarm systems and 33 had no evacuation plans.

The Civil Defence Department has declared the presence of a fire detection and alarm system in buildings mandatory. Also mandatory are fire extinguishers, hydrants and sprinklers.

The buildings require a fire safety plan, emergency fire control room, emergency exit and evacuation plan as well as ventilation and air conditioning systems on the premises.

The Building Code of the Pakistan Fire Safety Provisions 2016 asked for installation of portable fire extinguishers and installation of sprinkler systems in dwellings for one and two families in addition to installation of standpipe and hose systems and pumps for fire protection among other as fire safety measures.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2023.