It is no big secret that Dhaka’s rapid urbanization has been marred by a blatant disregard for fire safety regulations. High-rises mushroom across the city, often flouting building codes, with inadequate exits, faulty wiring, and insufficient firefighting equipment. The recent fire in Purana Paltan, then, cannot be considered an anomaly.
As a publication, we have editorialized time and again on the issue of fire safety in our capital city, a state of affairs which has been led to by weak enforcement of building codes, rampant corruption among relevant authorities which sees officials look the other way for the right price, and most importantly lack of accountability -- after every major fire, be it FR Tower in 2019 or the Nimtoli tragedy in 2010, there are promises of reform; yet, no lasting changes materialize. Investigations drag on, culprits evade punishment, and the cycle repeats.
It is nothing short of alarming to see fire safety continue to be considered an afterthought , as testified by the sheer frequency with which fires occur in Dhaka -- slum fires are a dangerously frequent phenomenon, for instance. The government needs to focus on a few key factors to curb the number of fires we see on a near weekly basis, from strict enforcement of code by organizations such as Rajuk and our fire department, conducting regular drills and public campaigns on emergency protocols, modernizing our fire response, and, again, holding those responsible for these incidents accountable.
While the exact cause of the Purana Paltan fire has yet to be established, it is unlikely to be anything out of the ordinary. Which is why the point remains the same: The government must treat fire safety not as an afterthought, but as a matter of urban survival. Otherwise, we are simply counting down to the next disaster.
As a publication, we have editorialized time and again on the issue of fire safety in our capital city, a state of affairs which has been led to by weak enforcement of building codes, rampant corruption among relevant authorities which sees officials look the other way for the right price, and most importantly lack of accountability -- after every major fire, be it FR Tower in 2019 or the Nimtoli tragedy in 2010, there are promises of reform; yet, no lasting changes materialize. Investigations drag on, culprits evade punishment, and the cycle repeats.
It is nothing short of alarming to see fire safety continue to be considered an afterthought , as testified by the sheer frequency with which fires occur in Dhaka -- slum fires are a dangerously frequent phenomenon, for instance. The government needs to focus on a few key factors to curb the number of fires we see on a near weekly basis, from strict enforcement of code by organizations such as Rajuk and our fire department, conducting regular drills and public campaigns on emergency protocols, modernizing our fire response, and, again, holding those responsible for these incidents accountable.
While the exact cause of the Purana Paltan fire has yet to be established, it is unlikely to be anything out of the ordinary. Which is why the point remains the same: The government must treat fire safety not as an afterthought, but as a matter of urban survival. Otherwise, we are simply counting down to the next disaster.