Authorities asleep at the wheel as many bldgs ignore fire safety

Although many high-rise commercial buildings have been occupied without fulfilling the fire safety standards, those are yet to be identified because 99 per cent of the owners are least bothered about having occupancy certificates following the approval of the building plans, claimed fire service officials. The officials also raised concern over the increase in factory buildings in Dhaka city in an unplanned way and stressed the need for having stricter rules to regulate the fire safety measures all kinds of buildings – residential, commercial and industrial — big or small. Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate’s instructor M Akram said only 1 in 100 owners of high-rise buildings cares about collecting the occupancy certificate, leaving the authorities in the absolute dark about their fire safety standards. Sources at fire service said they have decided to issue notices on the owners who took no-objection certificates for their building plans, but did not receive occupancy certificates after completing their building construction. They also said legal action will also be taken against the errant owners. When his attention was drawn to the matter, Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate, said they are operating mobile-court drives to make sure owners build buildings complying with the building code. Ali Ahmed observed that besides lack of information about the occupancy status of the buildings, another major concern over fire safety is the unplanned expansion of industries in the city area. According to fire service rules, the DG can declare any structure unfit for accommodation if it lacks the fire safety measures, reports UNB.