Amending Fire Prevention & Extinguishing Act

The Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence authority has approached the government with a proposal to amend the Fire Prevention & Extinguishing Act, 2003. The amendment being proposed would award the Fire Service with magistracy powers. Given that there have been multiple, massive fires that have ripped through Dhaka and Chattogram cities resulting in significant loss of lives and property, the time has come to review what powers the service has, and how amending the law can aid this essential service provider to do its job properly.

It is no longer news that Rajdhani Unnayan Katripokkho (RAJUK), which is in charge of approving building design has been failing for decades, to live up to the task when it comes to adhering to the building code. This failure to approve designs as per law and then enforce the set standards that provide the security and safety against accidents leading to devastating fires, has prompted the Fire Service to ask for the amendment in the first place. Dhaka city is now a megacity, with millions of people living in very congested areas. Buildings are sprouting up all over the city. Markets, both permanent and temporary, dot the landscape in every locality. As RAJUK has been unable to implement any plans to separate areas of Dhaka into various zones, the capital city is a hotchpotch of commercial and residential areas, which ideally should not be located in the same vicinity, but is.

As stated before, RAJUK is debilitated by its inability to enforce any of the laws, and hence, there is no regulatory pressure over inspection of buildings regarding safety issues. Not only that, there is no sustained campaign to raise awareness of city residents about what to do in case of fire, what measures to keep in place in case a fire breaks out, and finally, no water reservoir to tap into if and when a fire occurs. The Fire Service and Civil Defence authority should not bear the burden of failure to put out fires where it has no authority to inspect buildings in the city. The fact that this service is managing to contain massive fires that have destroyed markets like Banga Bazaar or the repeated fires in the old quarter of the city where chemical substances are kept in warehouses - which are essentially residential buildings, brings the question of enforcing rules to the forefront.

In that context, it is understandable that for the Fire Service department to do its job properly it must have powers of magistracy. Such empowerment would allow the authority to inspect locations and hand out fines to lawbreakers. Also, the fire service authority is perfectly suited to conduct drills in every locality to educate people about how to handle fire incidents, to contain it while help is on the way. If people are trained in the basics, a lot of lives can be saved, and damage to property minimised. Authorities need to revisit the Act and lay out in clear terms what powers should be given to Fire Service and Civil Defence authority when it comes to magistracy. City residents should not be put in a position where there are conflicting interests or clashes between RAJUK and the fire service over authority. Amendments to the Act needs to be clearly thought out so that implementation can be smooth and without hiccups, and works for public benefit.