Most filling stations set up at close distance to each other in the city lack adequate fire safety measures and run the risk of conflagration.
The government guidelines say the owners of fuel stations must see to it that a certain distance is maintained between fuel reservoirs and fuel dispersing units to avoid a great risk of fire.
However, these formalities are absent in most of the fuel stations, which also have out-of-date fire extinguishers. Further, these fire extinguishers are locked in rooms from where it would be difficult to bring them out during an emergency.
The lack of greater vigilance by the government is attributed as the reason for the rise in fuel stations at close range across the city.
According to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation guideline, there must be a distance of at least two-kilometres between two petrol pumps in the city, and six-kilometres outside the capital.
Many of the filling stations are situated near garment industries in Mirpur, Rampura, Uttara and Malibagh areas and chemical shops across old Dhaka, posing risks.
On the other hand, the majority of fuel stations near Gabtali, Amin Bazar and from Jatrabari to Kanchpur bridge don’t have cemented floors.
A number of vehicles, including trucks and buses, were seen parked on their brick-laden premises.
Moreover, in some fuel stations, CNG and petrol are sold in the same yard.
Asked about fire safety measures, a number of owners and staff members of petrol stations claimed that they are conscious enough when they fill up vehicles with fuel.
They appeared dumbfounded when asked whether they have complied with the government rule to ensure minimum safety measures for fuel centres.
Requesting anonymity, a number of owners admitted that filling stations buy fire safety equipment before they apply for a no-objection certificate from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department and the Department of Explosives.
But they are not inclined to refill or change the equipment afterwards.
When it comes to inspecting the petrol pumps, the fuel station owners manage the officials in some ways, said an owner, who wished not to be named.
Even when any tough action is taken against the offenders, it leads to protests, such as countrywide strikes at the petrol pumps.
Fire Service and Civil Defense Department Director General Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said to get a no-objection certificate, a filling station requires several types of fire-safety equipment.
This includes four CO2 fire extinguishers; two pairs of boots; two pairs of rubber gloves; four dry chemical powder fire extinguishers, each with a capacity of six kilogrammes; fire-safety training for filling station employees; a number of easily viewable no-smoking signs; and the telephone number of the fire service in large letters.
He said a small fuel refilling station needs to have have six medium-size red metal buckets – containing chemical powder – which should be kept hanging outside the station.
The buckets should have “FIRE” written on them with white colour, and obviously, a 30-kg chemical powder has to be preserved in big stations for dousing fires.
At Pother Bondhu filling station at Nilkhet intersection, there were three buckets hanging outside but the material inside was wet.
Only a few yards away, another petrol pump QG Samdani and Company has a fire extinguisher but it remains locked in the warehouse.
Atiq, a staff member of the petrol pump, said he had never seen the owner change or recharge the fire extinguisher since four years ago, when he got the job.
A shop selling cigarettes was found in a corner of the filling station named Meghna Filling and CNG at Jatrabari, though it is prohibited.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, a petrol pump owner Mubhitul Haque said apart from the filling stations, thousands of fuel-carrying lorries in the country do not follow fire-safety measures.
Petrol Pump Owners Association president Nazmul Haque said there are 4500 filling stations across the country while the Dhaka district has more than a thousand.
In the Dhaka metropolitan area, there are a total of 84 petrol pumps and Mohakhali, Mirpur and Gabtali areas have the highest numbers.
Nazmul said they try their best to pressure the fuel pump owners to keep fire-safety equipment in the filling stations.
“When we call a general meeting, we ask our association members to keep fire extinguishers ready, not to turn on many lights which can create heat and not to entertain faulty or old vehicles,” he added.
He claimed that a good number of their members are aware of fire safety.
“But, you know, it’s all about luck,” he said.
“If once a filling station catches fire, nobody can save it. Even 50 extinguishers are not enough to douse a fire on the highly flammable oil,” he said.
Nazmul added that only fire extinguishing gas works on petroleum fires, but the gas has to be sprayed from a close distance, which is impossible during a big fire.
“We are relying upon God. He saved us so far and will save us in future,” he hopes.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Chairman Md Eunusur Rahman said the Department of Explosives checks the fire safety equipment every year. They also deal with the fire-safety issue with highest importance.
“If they find faults, they take punitive actions,” he claimed.
