Fire service to seek magisterial power

Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence is set to propose the government to amend the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act, 2003 to get power of magistracy, Director General of the service Brigadier General Md Main Uddin said on Thursday.
The law needs to be amended and the fire service office will take necessary initiatives in this regard, Mr Main Uddin told the media after attending a prize giving ceremony of a debate competition held at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) in the city.
Debate for Democracy organised the debate for creating awareness among the people about fire incident and safety.
The building code of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) is conflicting with the Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Act, 2003 which also needs to be amended, he said.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate considers a six-storey building as a multi-storey building whereas the RAJUK considers a building above 10-storey as a multi-storey one for the difference between the law and RAJUK building code that needs to be amended.
He said the RAJUK did not impose any embargo on constructing any building.
He added the law that was enacted in 2022 has become old and the Bangladesh National Building Code needs to be modified.
Asked about action taken against the attackers of fire service officials during the recent Bangabazar fire incident in the city, he said the attackers were identified and the legal process is now underway.
He said a total of 14 fire service vehicles were vandalised during the attack at Bangabazar.
Of the damaged cars, one was worth around Tk 80 million.
In the recent time, the country has witnessed a spate of deadly fires that have caused fear and anxiety among the people.
The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), 2020 has gone through several amendments due to the past fire-related experiences.
It is necessary to establish an effective authority for monitoring the systems and collaboration at the local level aiming to prevent a spate of fatal fire incidents, according to the sector insiders.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com