The commission was tasked with enforcement of building bylaws, including provision of emergency exits in high-rise buildings. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday removed Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer from the chairmanship of the Fire Safety Commission amidst allegations of poor handling of the May 9 fire at LDA plaza.
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah also summoned Punjab advocate general for July 11 along with the report of the inquiry into the fire incident. He also asked the petitioner to suggest names for the chairman of the Fire Safety Commission.
During the course of hearing, petitioner Advocate Noshab Khan said that on March 2, the court had formed the fire safety commission under the chairmanship of Dr Naseer. The commission was tasked with enforcement of building bylaws, including provision of emergency exits in high-rise buildings. He said that fire rescue workers of the Punjab Emergency Service had failed to rescue people trapped in the LDA plaza when a fire erupted. He said the Rescue 1122 was not properly equipped to deal with such situations.
Khan told the court that people trapped on top floors of the plaza had to jump from the windows because there were no long ladders.
The lawyer said had Rescue 1122 had been equipped with modern tools, several lives could have been saved.
He mentioned a letter written by District Coordination Officer (DCO) Naseem Sadiq to the chief minister, suggesting that the fire was used to destroy some of the records kept in the building.
Advocate Khan urged the court to order a judicial inquiry into the incident.
A provincial law officer told the court that an inquiry into the incident was in progress on the directions of the chief minister. He said an initial report in this regard had been submitted to the chief minister.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2013.
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It is a common misconception that building management responsibility ends when they comply with the minimum fire safety requirement and the Fire and Rescue Service will do the rest. Whilst fire fighters will no doubt do whatever is necessary to save life, it is of enormous benefit if the evacuation of people is started before the fire service arrives at the scene, so that fire fighters are free to concentrate on other aspects of dealing with the incident.
It is the responsibility of the building management to make every effort to get everyone to safety. Building owner could do more in building evacuation planning that includes identifying and providing the needs to facilitate safe evacuation, and making arrangements for assistance during emergency.
Increasing pressure on government budgets means the funding for more personnel and equipment such as Aerial Trucks is in short supply. Recent LDA Plaza fire produced complaints from local Responders and others about a lack of funds available for new equipment. Given the relatively low number of high rise rescue operations in the course of a year, the per capita cost of serving this specialized sector is disproportionately high. In the long term, the widespread use of Supplemental Evacuation in buildings would transfer some of the costs incurred by the fire department related to high rise rescue operations over to the building owners and tenants themselves who benefit from these specialized services.
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