Bangladesh doesn’t have the best record when it comes to safety from fires. From buildings not being up to code to there being a surprising lack of fire safety equipment, Bangladesh has a rough track when it comes to keeping its citizens safe from fire hazards.
On that note, it is certainly not ideal to stack a high excise rate on fire safety equipment. Equipment of this type can be taxed to upwards of 50%, and this is certainly hurting the country. Bangladesh has a number of issues like this when it comes to the imposition on taxes, but taxing a lifesaving item such as this at such a high rate is going too far.
Bangladesh has regular fires, to the point that expecting at least a few major incidents per year has become regular. From the FR tower incident to the fire at Hashem factory that happened due to the dangerous storage of flammable material and a lack of fire safety equipment, Bangladesh faces too many deadly fire incidents for us to not prioritize fire safety to the best of our abilities.
When investigated, the primary reasons for these fires are the lack of safety equipment and the horrible designs of the buildings themselves. While tackling the issue of design is a long-term and lengthy solution, tackling the cost of fire safety equipment is something that can be done now. There is no reason for such important material to cost so much, and there are other channels through which tax revenue can be gained.
However, while the government must reconsider the decision to put such high tariffs on fire safety equipment, building and factory owners can’t skimp on their duties as well, and high prices of fire safety equipment is no legitimate reason to not ensure that their workers are safe and that any construction is devoid of the necessary fire safety equipment.
When it comes to the issue of fire safety, we all need to do our part.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
