Lahore fire tragedy

Time and again, we come across tragic headlines owing to dilapidated systems and lack of will power on the part of authorities to fix these systems. Tragically, six siblings as young as one year of age lost their lives in Lahore over the past weekend all due to negligence by respective local fire brigades. Similarly, only a couple of weeks ago, there were reports of a fire at a Karachi factory, also owing to poorly implemented fire combatting systems. The glaring issue of lack of preparedness of local fire departments makes a mockery of the very role of an emergency response crew. It has been reported that the fire engine in Lahore first had to be filled with water via a tanker before being equipped to battle the fire. It is important to note here that authorities are responsible for implementing fire safety regulations, which normally include regular checks to ensure equipment is up to date and this is all placed in a written record. It seems that this did not happen here. Ideally, local authorities should be involved in creating a fire safety plan for every municipality and provide information to residents about who to call and what to do in case of fire. Commercial establishments should be made to draw escape routes in case of fire and carry out drills while households should be encouraged to do the same.

At this point, we do not need an authority figure making recommendations for sprinklers to be installed in buildings or for fire departments to ensure their trucks contain adequate water. What is needed is the implementation of regular checks and the levying of fines on fire departments if they do not complete regular checks to ascertain their systems are up to date. There is certainly a lack of a safety culture in our country and potentially controllable fires turn into tragedies due to neglect of fire safety measures and poorly equipped fire departments. While the government has formed an inquiry committee, it should have ensured that all emergency systems were installed in the first place. If it values human life in our tragedy-prone country, it must do this now.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2015.

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