As a nation, we have been far too lax over the issue of fire safety, much to the detriment of our well being, as testified by the recent series of fires breaking out across the nation -- predominantly in the capital city -- which seems to be going on unabated, with at least three more cases being reported earlier this week.
The fires reportedly broke out in Dhaka's Mohakhali and Kataban areas and another at a Dhaka South City Corporation sweeper colony.
Given the sheer frequency with which the recent fires have been occurring, it is not out of the bounds of reason to ask the administration to investigate them, ideally with a more holistic approach.
When it comes to the frequency of fires, it seems that Dhaka city is hellbent on breaking a record of sorts, with one fire after another littering the skyline of the city year after year. Our buildings and other structures continue to function under a shroud of neglect as seen with the numerous industrial fires which made the headlines last year, but the key factor always boils down to a lack of enforcement of building code.
It is quite unreasonable, for example, to use residential areas as storage spaces for volatile chemicals and fuel depots, and yet it's an incredibly common practice in our country that has led to disastrous results in the past.
Bangladesh has seen tragedy after tragedy when it comes to poor fire safety, which are largely a direct product of unenforced safety standards and the impunity awarded to factory owners, in the case of industrial fires, every time -- as we witnessed with the Sitakunda depot fire last year.
We cannot afford to lose anymore lives and livelihoods to fires, certainly not from fires that occur due to callousness.
