Fire hazard

Fire safety in Karachi is an afterthought. During the current year, almost 3,000 fire incidents were reported in the metropolis. At a recent conference, city planners, engineers and architects raised concerns about the effectiveness of regulatory bodies - like the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in Karachi - and questioned their failure to enforce building by-laws by approving illegal construction of multi-storey residential, commercial and industrial buildings without fire safety plans. The majority of the buildings in the city lack adequate fire safety systems. The issue of fire safety has long been ignored in Karachi, with the rapid urbanisation and population growth of the city outpacing the necessary infrastructure development. Many of Karachi's high-rise buildings, commercial spaces and residential complexes are built without considering essential fire prevention and safety systems.

Although the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations, 2002 and other acts exist to enforce fire safety mechanisms, they are not implemented by the authorities. Fire safety includes fire exits, extinguishers, sprinklers and alarms - systems that are critical for saving lives in emergencies. Instead, these buildings often prioritise profits over safety. The catastrophic fires that have occurred in the city over the past decade should serve as a wake-up call. The 2012 Baldia Town factory fire, which claimed the lives of more than 260 people, was a stark reminder of the city's vulnerability. Yet, little has changed since then. Karachi's fire brigade is ill-equipped to handle large-scale fires, and the lack of modern fire safety systems in buildings only exacerbates the situation. Stricter enforcement of safety regulations, mandatory installation of fire safety systems and better training for fire-fighting personnel are essential steps toward ensuring the protection of Karachi's citizens.