Download - Risk of Fire
1)Introduction:
Dhaka is the city which has glorious past and history of 400 years. The
capital of Bangladesh is also known as one of the densely populated cities in the world. Over the years
it has developed as the most important urban center of Bangladesh. Most of the important investment
and development are highly concentrated in Dhaka and its surrounding areas. That’s why for better
scope and better life chances most of the people choose Dhaka. The city is now experiencing
continuous growth both in size and population. The rapid growth of population in the city is exerting
tremendous pressure on the limited amount of available land. And because of this extra pressure from
the population high-rise buildings are constructed like mushrooms for both commercial and residential
purpose to fulfill the need of this population (Bangladesh Environment volume one: main report,
2002-03:41). In Dhaka a major concentration of tall buildings is observed in Motijheel. Motijheel is
one of the principal commercial areas of Dhaka city. It is situated at the heart of the city and is the
center of all economic activities. All the major banks head office and big corporate houses have their
office in Motijheel. During dry season occurrences of fire incidence is very common for Dhaka city.
Specifically in slums, garment factories and small manufacturing industries. But after the fire incident
in the Ntv building in 2007 and fire in Bashundhara city shopping complex on 13 th March, 2009 it is
very alarming for us that high rise buildings are also in the risk of fire. Beside this study shows that
electrical fault in the buildings is an important reason of causing fire in the Dhaka city (Alam,
Md.Jobair.B and Baroi,George N,2004.Fire Hazard categorization and risk assessment for Dhaka city
in GIS Framework). That’s why the current study tries to show the condition of Motijheel commercial
area which is such an important area of Dhaka when high rise buildings are considered in the great risk
of fire1.For study purpose both government and non-government buildings are included and some
opinions of the respondents about fire like situation are also given.
1 Fire is defined as a chemical process involving rapid oxidation of a combustible material producing heat and flame. Fire thus involves a chemical union between oxygen and fuel that has a temperature raised to its ignition point by addition of heat.(Islam,1985:78)
1
1.1)Rationale of the study:
During this time of rapid urban growth only few works
have been done on fire Hazard which is very small considering to the overall fire risk. And no specific
work has been found also which is related to the study area. On the other hand the important thing is
that most of the high- rise buildings in Dhaka are not in build fire fighting facilities and that’s why
there is a chance of risk. Beside this in recent times Bangladesh is in a great risk of earthquake and the
earthquake disaster risk index has placed Dhaka among the 20 most vulnerable cities in the world (The
Daily Star, 6th July, 2004.“Earthquake hazard: Dhaka city perspective”). It is very shocking because
during earthquake any faulty electricity and gas line can also cause serious fire. For this reason the
current research has been done to know the situation of fire risk in Motijheel commercial area which is
one of the important place of Dhaka and the center of all national level economic activities.
1.2)Objectives of the study:
The main objective of the research was to find out the
fire risk in the buildings of Motijheel commercial area. It is the area where the most of the important
high rise buildings2 of Dhaka can be found such as Bangladesh Bank, Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Jiban
Bima Bhaban, Sonali Bank, Dhaka Stock Exchange etc. and also some other important corporate and
commercial offices. Beside this some other issues such as existence of fire warning system in the
buildings, people’s knowledge about the fire equipments, their personal experience and opinion about
fire hazard3, any visit from fire service, people’s knowledge about existing law on fire drill, condition
of gas and electricity lines in the buildings these are the other issues followed during the time of the
research.
2 According to Bangladesh National Building Code 1993, a high rise building has been defined as a building which is more than six storeys or 20 meter high.3 Fire hazard is define in our country as any fire that was reported to at least one of the fire service stations of Bangladesh Fire service and Civil Defence. (Islam,1985:78)
2
2) Literature review: There is no specific research on fire risk in the high rise
buildings and also no specific work on fire hazard related with the study area. Only a few newspaper
reports, reports in internet blog, articles, a book and journal have been found on fire hazard.
According to Islam (1985), the major factors behind fire proneness of the city is
that it use highly inflammable material for housing and open flames for cooking, lighting and heating
in low income residential areas, maintenance of little or no gap between and among structures, faulty
systems of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and frequent incendiary attacks on
vehicles during political disturbances. (Islam, M.Aminul, 1985:75)
A study conducted by Alam and Baroi (2004) showed that fire incidence can be
occurred through various sources. In their study they showed that out of 670 fire incidence in 2001,
37% of the cases the cause remained unknown and under investigation. In Dhaka maximum number of
fire incidence caused by electrical fault which accounted for 34% of the total incidence. Highest
number of fire incidence caused by gas occurred in hazardous and less hazardous zone. For about 15%
cases fire incidents are caused by cigarettes, machine’s heat, kitchen, candles and mosquito coils.
A report published by The Daily Star on 21st May, 2006 about a seminar which
was jointly organized by Department of Architecture of Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology (BUET) and The Daily Star. The report quoted some of the Architecture students-
Sharmin Sultana who presented her paper on safety and security in office buildings said most office
buildings even in the most posh areas of the city do not have enough security and safety measures.
"Sena Kalyan Bhaban, for example, is rich in security equipment, but the alternative stair went through
the toilets, which is slippery and risky to run during any accident," she noted.
Even in BRAC Inn Centre the main lift and the main stair are together while people do not have easy
access to the alternative stair and its width is also not sufficient, she added. Almost 90 percent office
buildings in the city have been wrongly planned and lack awareness of safety rules.
3
Beside this existing data shows that incidence of fire hazard in Dhaka is
increasing year after year
Table-1
Number of fire incidences in Dhaka city
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Total
Fire
incidence
736 809 768 734 782 806 833 - 1861 2053 2279
Source: BFSCD, 2001 and the New Age, 2007
In a recent article which is published in The Daily Star on 18th April, 2009 the
author showed that the 17-storied Al-Amin Centre at Dilkusha, constructed in 2001 has two
staircases. But unfortunately, the so-called dedicated 'Fire Escape' is only up to the 10th floor and not
in regular use. Therefore the users from 11 to 17 floors have ONE staircase. Moreover, the staircases
are separated by a distance of 3m (10 feet) and both the staircases continue up to the basement.
In another report of The Daily Star they showed that most of the multi-storey
buildings in the city are dangerously exposed to fire disasters as they lack adequate firefighting
equipment and properly trained personnel. On the other hand study shows risk situation in some high
rise buildings such as Jiban Bima tower. The twenty-storey tower installed the fire safety gear during
the construction of the Tower at Dilkusha. But it already becomes inoperative and it is rendering
completely vulnerable to the fire, said officials and security guards of different offices housed in the
building. The building has an emergency exit but most of the doors of different floors leading to the
emergency exit remain closed round the clock. The hydrants on different floors set up during its
construction have also been out of order for ages, they added. And also the fire extinguishers are not
available on most of the floors.
4
3) Theoretical framework:
Giddens (2006) said the process of industrialization
generated the concept of urbanization where a large number of populations move toward cities and
towns. Later the development of modern cities has had an enormous impact not only on habits and
modes of behaviour but on pattern and thoughts of feeling. On that time cities were seen the fount of
dynamism and cultural creativity. Cities maximize opportunities for economic and cultural
development and provide the means of living a comfortable and satisfying existence.
According to Gunther (1981) and Dodge (1996) fire is
one of the earliest innovations of civilization and an essential part of our existence on the earth. Still it
is the dreaded demon which burns everything into ashes when it gets out of control. Fire can cause
widespread destruction within no time and is one of the most feared scourges of modern civilization.
Although fire hazards cannot be fully eliminated, corresponding risk can be minimized by better
preparedness and well planned mitigation strategies developed on the basis of comprehensive analysis
based on his spatial, temporal and causal pattern. It is vital that hazard level be assessed in order to
understand the spatiality of fire hazards and enable distribution of the optimum dynamic resources in a
balanced manner.
Rayner’s (1992) view on this matter is that emergency services need current information to provide
quick and adequate response. Such information includes spatial details on land-use, functions of
structures, access network and availability of resources. To combat the menace of fire hazard it is
required to integrate the spatial context and potential population exposure together with technical and
engineering aspects.
Blakie (1994) says that the concept of vulnerability is important during the time of fire hazard. It is
encompassing the physical relationship between hazards and communities at risk, accident
preparedness and the mitigation and the social geography of potentially affected populations.
5
4) Methodology:
For conducting the research a questionnaire was made for interview
where the pattern of the questions was unstructured. Through the questionnaire the main intention was
to find out all possible answers related with fire hazard. That means to know the level of fire risk in the
study area. The method applied here was mixed method. Because the questionnaire was contained
with both qualitative and quantitative type of questions to find out both type of data. And for this
reason during data analysis both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied here.
Motijheel commercial area is a big area and the population of the
commercial area represents the universe of the study. For study purpose six buildings were chosen
from the study area as sampling unit. The buildings are Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Peoples Insurance
Company Limited; ALICO Building (American Life Insurance Company), Jiban Bima Bhaban,
Rahman Chember.All type of employees of these offices was included for interview such as people
from upper and lower rank of these offices. From the employees directly eighteen people were chosen
as sample for interview where sampling technique was random. The buildings were chosen because of
easy access, all have importance and all situated in a position that if any fire occurred they can pose
great threat to others and can also fell in vulnerable situation.
For collecting data only interview technique was applied here. The entire
respondent gave face to face interview. During the time of interview the questionnaire was used as a
guideline and beside the selected questions some other questions were also asked to the respondents on
the basis of the nature of their answer. After the overall data collection all the data is analyzed
manually.
The major limitation of the study was the small sample size and absence of any specific
theory related with the topic. Considering to the overall boundary of the study area very small number
of buildings are covered for study. Besides this absence of building authorities opinion on fire fighting
facilities of the building and failure to get any opinion of the nearest fire station officials is another
limitation the study.
6
5) Importance of the study area:
During this time of rapid population growth
urban boundaries are enhancing haphazardly. That’s why any area of Dhaka can be under the risk of
fire. According to DFID (Department for International Development) fire is the fourth largest disaster
of Bangladesh. There is an argument that most of the structures of Dhaka during the time of
construction didn’t follow the rules and regulation. On the other hand in most of the commercial and
residential buildings there are many electricity lines, gas line and highly powerful chemicals are also
used where any carelessness can cause fire(Bangladesh: Disaster report,2001:147). Beside this crisis
of water is another problem during fire situation because in most of the areas the extra source of water
such as Pond, swamps are filled with earth for establishing new structure.
For the current study Motijheel is chosen not only because it is the important economic center of
Bangladesh but also it can fell into all the assumptions make for fire risk. The most important thing is
that some of the buildings of the area can also play an important role to show others how to take
preparation for fire like situation. Beside this presence of Bangabhaban, offices of some important
national Daily, renowned educational institutions such as Ideal school and college and Notre Dame
College and the Kamalapur Railway Station which is close to the area also increase the significance of
the area.
7
8
Figure-1 Boundary of Motijheel Area.
6) Major findings of the study:
For conducting the research the major
limitation was that the sample size was too small. Though both government and non-government
buildings are chosen for study but considering to the total area of Motijheel only 6 buildings are
covered for the study. But still some important findings are come out from the conducted research
which included the respondent’s knowledge about their office, the overall fire fighting facilities of the
buildings, occurrence of any fire drill, respondents knowledge about nearest fire station, condition of
the gas and electricity lines, incidence of any fire service inspection, precautionary measurement for
fire like situation, respondents personal experience in fire and some of their opinion about their
working places for preventing fire situation.
6.1)Fire fighting facilities in the buildings:
The main intention of the study was to see
the risk of fire in the buildings of Motijheel. That’s why respondents were asked about the existing
facilities in the buildings for control fire situation. Questions were asked on the fire fighting
equipments and respondents knowledge about those equipments. Considering the overall study among
the six buildings of the study area three buildings such as Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Peoples Insurance
Company Limited and ALICO building have better fire fighting facilities. On the other hand among
the other 3 buildings only Sonali Bank has fire extinguishers and other two have no such facilities in
the building.
Table 2
Patten of the buildings Government Non-Government Total
Existence of proper fire
fighting facilities
- 3 3
Absence of proper fire
fighting facilities
2 1 3
9
Total 2 4 6
Source: Field work, 2009.
6.2) Existence of the Hydrant Box:
Hydrant box is a necessary item for every building in modern time. The respondents were asked about the existence of hydrant box in their building. The answer was categorized into two categories. This is also shown by a table below.
Table-3
Answer of the respondents Number of the respondents
Yes 07
No 11
Total 18
Source: Field Work, 2009.
Seven of the respondents said that in their building they have hydrant box and eleven of the
respondents said that they have no hydrant box. All the seven respondents are from Peoples building
and Sena Kalyan Bhaban. The most important thing is that all the respondents were able to specify the
position of the hydrant box.
10
Hydrant box
6.3) Existence of fire extinguisher:
Fire extinguisher is the most important thing for fire
like situation in both commercial and residential buildings. The respondents were asked about the
existence of fire extinguisher, number of extinguisher in per floor and also their knowledge about how
to handle it.
Table-4
Existence of fire extinguisher Number of respondents
Yes 13
No 05
Total 18
Source: Field work, 2009.
Among the respondents thirteen said that they have fire extinguisher and another five said they have
no extinguisher in the building.
The important thing is that one of the respondents said that in the building they have only one fire
extinguisher which is not working and without any expiry date. Another respondent in the same
building said that the other offices in the building may have fire extinguisher.
6.3.1) Number of fire extinguisher:
11
The important thing is that five of the buildings of the
study area have fire extinguisher. Only in the branch office of the Jiban Bima Bhaban no extinguisher
was found. The number of extinguisher was counted on the basis of per floor.
4 58
24
1 00
5
10
15
20
25
30
Peoples
InsuranceCompany
ALICO
Building
Sena
KalyanBhaban
Sonali Bank
Jiban Bima
Bhaban
Rahmanchamber
Name of the Buildings
To
tal
Nu
mb
er
of
Exti
ng
uis
her(
Per
Flo
or)
Figure-2
Source: Field work, 2009
Figure shows that in the Peoples Insurance Building there are four fire extinguishers in per floor and in
the ALICO building they have five extinguishers. In the Sena Kalyan Bhaban the number of
extinguisher vary from 7/8 in per floor. In Jiban Bima Bhaban only one extinguisher was found. The
building of Sonali Bank is divided into two parts. The ground floor and 1st and 2nd floor is the local
branch of the bank and 3rd to 7th floor is the central part of the bank. The study area was the ground
floor and twenty four extinguishers are allotted for the floor. According to the Establish and
Engineering Division there are 41 extinguishers in the local branch and 79 extinguishers for the central
branch of the bank. And no extinguisher was found in the Rahman Chamber though the building is
nine storeys and situated in an important part of Motijheel.
6.3.2) Condition of the extinguishers:
The important thing is that though most of the buildings
of the study area have fire extinguisher facilities but among them only in The Peoples building, Sena
Kalyan Bhaban and in The ALICO building it is found that they regularly checked the condition of the
12
extinguisher and also change the extinguisher after the date of expiry. But in the case of the other
buildings existence of such activities is not found.
6.3.3) Respondents knowledge on fire extinguisher:
Whether the respondents have any knowledge on using
fire extinguisher or not is another important findings of the study.
Table-5
Respondents knowledge on fire extinguisher Number of respondents
Yes 06
No 12
Total 18
Source: Field work, 2009.
From the study it is found that only six respondents know how to use fire extinguisher and twelve
respondents directly said that they have no idea how to use it.
The important thing is that two of the respondents from Sena Kalyan Bhaban said that few months ago
a fire service drill was occurred in their office but they weren’t shown how to use the fire extinguisher.
Beside this different kind of picture was found in the ALICO Building where the all the interviewee
were from Standard Chartered Bank and one of them said that in their office they are given regular
training on fire extinguisher and they also see how to use it during the time of fire drill.
6.4) Existence of alarm bell and smoke detector:
13
More than half of the respondents ensured the existence
of alarm bell in the building and only five said that they have no such facility in their building. In the
Sonali Bank they have a warning bell which is manually operated. Beside the alarm bell both the
Peoples Building and the ALICO building have smoke detector also. In the Rahman Chamber and
Jiban Bima Bhaban no such facilities were found. In Jiban Bima Bhaban the respondents said that the
facilities are available in their head office.
6.5)Fire exit in the buildings:
According to BNBC (Bangladesh National Building
Code), a fire escape is must in non-residential multi storied building with fire resistant door and also
with easy access and unhindered route4. On the basis of this questions were asked and ten respondents
said that they have fire exit in the building and they also specify the position of the emergence exit
door. On the other hand eight of the respondents said they have no fire exit in the building.
Table-6
Number of fire exit in the buildings
Name of the building Number of fire exit
Peoples Building 02
ALICO Building 02
Sena Kalyan Bhaban 01
Sonali Bank -
Jiban Bima Bhaban -
Rahman Chamber -
4 The Daily Star, 21st April, 2009.p-16, High-rise buildings vulnerable to fire.
14
Source: Field work, 2009
In Peoples Building they have two fire exit in the left and right side of each floor and the exits are
separated from the main office place by a corridor. In ALICO building both the fire exit are in the
back side of the building and in the Sena Kalyan Bhaban the exit specified by the respondent in the
right side of the building.
The important finding is that in the Rahman Chamber though they have no emergence exit but they
have a staircase in the back side of the building which they can easily use it as an emergence exit
during fire like situation but most of the employees of the building don’t know about the staircase and
it is not used as regular basis. Same case was found in the Jiban Bima Bhaban. The building has an
extra exit in the right side which is found all time locked.
6.5.1)Fire resistant door:
Among all the buildings selected for study only Peoples building and
Sena Kalyan Bhaban have fire exit with fire resistant door. In Sonali Bank one respondent said that
only the volt door of the bank is fire resistant beside this they have no fire resistant door in the
building. In the other selected buildings of the study area only normal doors are used.
6.6) Existence of under water reservoir:
The respondents were also asked about the existence of under water
reservoir in the building.
Table-7
Existence of under water reservoir Number of respondents
Yes 10
No 08
15
Total 18
Source: Field work, 2009.
Ten of the respondents said that in their building they have under water reservoir and eight of the
respondents said they have not. Basically in Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban this facility is
found and in the case of ALICO building though they have no hydrant box still they have under
ground reserve tank in the building for extra water supply.
One of the respondent said that they have reservoir and in case of emergence they can use the nearest
pond of the building. But in the case of other building there is no alternative source to tackle the fire
like situation. Beside this they get insufficient water supply in the building which can make them more
vulnerable during fire like situation.
6.7)Personal fire fighters for the building:
Both Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban have their fire
experts and fire fighting team which is a very significant finding of the study. Beside this in ALICO
building only the Standard Chartered Bank have their own fire fighters and they are given relevant
training. But they don’t know either the building has this facility or not. The other buildings of the
study area have no such type of facility.
6.8) Number of lift and staircases:
The respondents were asked about the lift and staircases of the
building.
Table-8
Name of the building Number of staircase Number of lift
Peoples Building 02 04
ALICO Building 02 -
16
Rahman Chamber 02 02
Sena Kalyan Bhaban 02 06
Jiban Bima Bhaban 02 01
Sonali Bank 02 02
Source: Field work, 2009
In Rahman Chamber though they have two lift but one of the respondents said that the lifts are
backdated and sometimes mechanical problems are created in the lifts. On the other hand, in Jiban
Bima Bhaban one of the respondents said that they found their lift most of the time in out of order so
they have to use stair on that time.
In Sonali Bank 2lift is found but considering to the building and the number of staff the lifts are not
enough. The building is eight storeys and during the fire situation absence of fire exit can make the life
of the people more vulnerable.
Both the Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban have generator facilities to run their lift in case of
emergency.
6.9) Condition of Gas and Electricity line:
The respondents were asked questions whether the gas and
electricity lines are checked regularly or not in their building. One of the common finding of the study
is that all of the buildings have no gas line.
17
12
1
32
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Number of respondent
RegularChecking
NoChecking
Not sure ProblemBasis
Opinion of the respondent
Condition of the electricity line
Figure-3
Source: Field work. 2009
The figure shows that twelve of the respondent said that in their building they check the electricity line
regularly, one of the respondent said that electricity lines are not regularly check in the building. Two
of the respondent said they are not sure whether the building checks the line regularly or not.
Electricity lines are checked if there any problem occurred in the line two of the respondent answered.
Among the respondent three said that it is their office policy to check the line regularly and they have
their own electrician for 24 hours.
In this case study shows that both the government buildings do not check electricity lines regularly.
They call local electrician if any problems occur.
Both the ALICO Building and Peoples Building have their own electrician and they check the
electricity line yearly. In the other buildings such practice is not found.
6.10) Precautionary Measurement:
The respondents were asked about the use of no smoking
sign, sand box and the existence of smoking zone in the building.
Table-9
18
Existence of smoking zone Number of respondent
Yes 00
No 18
Total 18
Source: Field work, 2009
All of the respondents said that there is no smoking zone in the building. In Peoples Building and
ALICO Building smoking is totally prohibited in the office and smokers generally smoke in the stairs,
toilet or go to outside.
Six of the respondents said that they can smoke anywhere in the office. One said for smoking they
have to go veranda.
In Sonali Bank one of the respondent said that smoking is prohibited in the office but during the time
of interview one of the staff of the office was smoking openly though there was a no smoking sign.
6.10.1) Use of no smoking sign and sand box:
In the buildings only Sena Kalyan Bhaban and Peoples Building
use the no smoking sign and sand box. In the ALICO building smoking is totally prohibited so they do
not smoke in the office and also don’t allow the clients or outsiders to smoke in the office arena.
In Sonali Bank they use both no smoking sign and sand box. But these are not regularly maintained.
One of the respondent said that sand boxes are basically use for spitting and sometimes treated as
dustbin.
6.11) Role of fire service:
Fire service can play an important role in taking precautionary
measurement and aware people about fire hazard. During the time of the study questions were asked
19
on fire drill, respondent’s knowledge about the nearest fire station number, knowledge on existing law
and any visit from fire service.
6.11.1) Occurrence of fire drill:
Among the respondent 44% said that yearly a fire drill occur in their building, 39% said there is no
fire drill occurred in the building and 17% said recently a drill is occurred in the building.
Fire drill in the buildings
Regular fire drill44%
Recently occur17%
No fire drill39%
Figure-4
From the study it is found that only in ALICO Building and Peoples Building yearly fire drill is
occurred. One respondent of Sena Kalyan Bhaban said that though fire drill is not occur regularly but
after the incident of Bashundhara City authority have arranged a drill two months ago. Same type of
drill was also occurred in the Peoples and ALICO building. On the other hand, no drill is occurred in
the Jiban Bima Bhaban and Sonali Bank .
One of the respondent of Rahman Chamber said that couple of months ago a drill was occurred in the
building which was arranged by the authority. But the other respondent had no idea on that because on
that time they were out of the office.
6.11.2) Knowledge on nearest fire station number:
20
During emergency situation fire station number is very important
thing.
Table-10
Personally keep fire station number Number of respondent
Yes 03
No 15
Total 18
Source: Field work, 2009
Among the eighteen respondents three said that they know nearest fire station number and also keep
the number with them. More than half of the respondents said they do not know the number. All the
respondents who know the nearest fire station number worked in a higher position in the office. One of
them said that though in his office they have no number of fire station but he personally keep the
number for emergency.Eleven of the respondents said that the number is in the reception of the office
and four others were not sure.
6.11.3) Knowledge on existing law:
21
According to BNBC (Bangladesh National Building Code) a
regular fire drill in every three months is mandatory5. Respondents were asked question on this.
Table-11
Knowledge on BNBC law Number of respondent
Yes 03
No 15
Total 18
Among the respondents six said they know about the law through media such as television, newspaper
etc. More than half of the respondents said they have no idea about the law.
One of the respondents said that though he have no idea about the law but his office give him full
training on fire drill after his appointment.
6.11.4) Visit from fire service:
Respondents were asked whether any inspection team come from
fire service. The above figure shows that all of the respondents said that there is no regular visit from
fire service in the building. But eight of them said that in last 2/3 months after the Bashundhara city
fire incidence a fire fighting team came in the building for conducting fire drill. But the important
thing is that during the drill the fire fighting team did not brief them about fire hazard. One of the
respondents said that during the fire drill in his office only the high official took part in drills, they
were just informed about the drill. Beside this when fire fighters created a false fire only few of the
members of the building use the fire exit. The fire fighters showed the use of fire extinguisher only the
higher official of the building.
5 The Daily Star, 21st April, 2009.p-16, High-rise buildings vulnerable to fire.22
0
18
0
5
10
15
20
Number of respondent
Regular visit fromfire service
Novisit
Inspection of fire service
Figure-5
Source: Field work, 2009
Another important finding is that for conducting the drill the building authority invited the fire fighting
team. Beside this fire service did not take any initiatives in the past. Among all the building employees
of four building ensured about recent drill in the building. But among them only the Standard
Chartered officials of ALICO building have the knowledge to use fire extinguisher. One of the
respondent also said that because of regular drill in their office they have understanding between them
what to do during fire like situation and they have also fire wardens in the building. The case of other
building is that all the employees are not expert like that.
In Rahman Chamber one respondent said that couple of months ago a drill was occurred in the
building but most of the employees were absent because of the official duty.
6.11.5) Respondents personal experience on fire hazard:
Respondents were asked question on their personal experience
on fire hazard. Most of them said they have gained experience from television beside this they have no
such experience in their personal life. One of the respondent said that he saw a fire incident in his area
and fire service came and stop the fire and he personally helped them.
23
6.12) Respondents opinion on fire facilities in the building:
Respondent’s opinion was asked about the existing facilities in
the building. One respondent said that though a fire drill is occurred in his building which is only
benefited the fire fighters. But overall participation is needed during this type of drill. Most of the
respondents think that they need to learn the use of fire extinguisher for emergency situation.
Another respondent think for informing and awaring people on fire hazard Government can supply
leaflet or fire service can arrange a program through which people can know better about the hazard.
The same respondent gave another opinion, on his view proper instruction is needed for fire like
situation. Both type of instruction is needed that means if fire occur in the upper part of the building
what will have to do or if it occur in the lower part of the building then what to do. Building lift should
be checked and maintained regularly was the opinion of another respondent.
24
7) Conclusion:
The main intention of the research was to see the relation between urban
development and fire risk in the buildings of Motijheel Commercial Area. Though the study was
conducted with some limitations but still some important findings are come out from the research.
The findings of the research indicate that fire fighting facilities have to increase in both Government
and non-government buildings. Fire fighting equipments such as hydrant box, fire extinguishers are
not available in every building and most of the respondents do not know the use of fire extinguisher.
Facilities like alarm bell, smoke detector, fire resistant door, sufficient number of fire exits, personal
fire fighters are only available in the big corporate buildings. Beside this for tackling fire situation
under water reservoir or any extra source of water is not found in all the buildings and insufficient
water supply still exists in the area. Considering to the height of the buildings enough number of lift
and staircases are available in the buildings. But staircases and lifts are not properly maintained in the
Government owned buildings. The important thing is that electricity lines are regularly checked in
most of the buildings. Some has own electrician and others call the local one if any problems occurred.
It is a matter of regret that though Dhaka city is now considering in a great risk of fire and urban
spaces grows rapidly. Fire service is not taking any proper initiatives. In most of the study buildings no
regular fire drill is occurred and there is hardly any visit from fire service for inspecting the condition
of the fire facilities in the building. The recently occurred drills are arranged by the building authority.
Even the respondents do not know the nearest fire station number and they also have no idea about the
existing law on fire drill.
So steps should be taken to solve these problems. People have to give primary
knowledge on fire fighting equipments and also have to show them how to tackle the emergency
situation. Regular fire drill should be conducted under the guidance of fire service and for this
everyone’s participation has to ensure. Government has to take proper initiatives on this. They can
ensure fire resistant door, emergency exit and separate water line in every building and make people
aware about the hazard.
25
Fire Extinguisher Modern warning bell
26
Situation of the Commercial Buildings, Motijheel.
27
28
29