HC seeks report on fire safety measures at high-rise buildings

The High Court (HC) today directed the authorities concerned to submit a detailed report on fire safety measures at the high-rise buildings in Dhaka city.

The mayors of Dhaka north and south city corporations, Rajukchairman and director general (DG) of Fire Service and Civil Defencehave been asked to jointly submit the report to the HC in four months.

In response to a writ petition, the court also ordered the DG of fire service to submit a separate report in a month on manpower, equipment and other necessary things to douse the fire.

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Nothing is right

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain in two weeks why construction of the buildings without sufficient fire safety measures should not be declared illegal.

In the rule, the court also asked the government to show causes why it should not be directed to set up a fire station at Gulshan of Dhaka.

The HC in the rule also asked the government why it should not be directed to pay compensation to families of the victims who lost their lives in the fire incidents of Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka and FR Tower in Banani.

The HC bench Justice Syed RefaatAhmed and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir Lytton came up with the order and rule following the petition filed by Gulshan Society Secretary General Barrister Sarwar Siraj Shukla challenging legality of constructing buildings in Dhaka without sufficient fire safety measures.

The order came following deaths of at least 26 people in a deadly blaze in the 22-storey FR Tower at Banani on Thursday. Fire safety experts found that the commercial high rise lacked any safe fire exit.

After the Gulshan market fire in January 2017, the fire service department identified that almost all the around 200 commercial high rises in the capital's Banani and Gulshan had no approved fire safety plan.