Another day, another factory fire.
A fire that broke out at an export-oriented garment factory in Narayanganj’s Bandar on Friday wreaked quite a bit of havoc, but one which has since been brought under control after around five hours.
Factory fires in Narayanganj seem to be a recurring theme for the city, given the dire state of fire safety measures, poor chemical storage that just begs for fires to break out, and lack of training and equipment being some of the chief reasons.
Given the density of factories in the area, one would assume that fire safety would be a priority for such factories and that the infrastructure for firefighters to bring any potential fires under control would facilitate it without any hurdles.
Not so much it seems.
While the factory in question was empty on the day the fire broke out, for the factory’s managing director to point fingers at the lack of employees present while the flames raged is disingenuous and a clear attempt at shifting the blame towards those who are not expected to be responsible.
The fact that a fire could break out so easily and under the very noses of the factory owners does not speak highly of any measures they might already have had in place, regardless of any claims to the contrary.
Issues such as fire safety and worker safety should be all but a given when talking about owners of RMG factories, an industry that has thus far been the veritable engine of our economy.
Despite Narayanganj being a hotspot for factories, the city’s infrastructure shares a lot of the blame in having it be so difficult to douse flames in time. This needs to be rectified immediately.
We cannot afford to be callous or ignorant when it comes to the issue of safety and security, especially when our economy is at stake.