KARACHI: The city of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest industrial hub, is facing a severe lack of fire safety measures in over 90 percent of its industries, residential buildings, and structures.
According to the experts, these deficiencies are attributed to authorities’ non-enforcement of building codes. The dire situation has resulted in an alarming annual toll of 12,000 to 15,000 lives lost in hundreds of fire incidents, with financial losses reaching hundreds of billions.
The experts underscored the need to implement building codes, enhance fire safety arrangements, and promote awareness and training among the populace.
During the annual symposium of the Fire Protection Association of Pakistan (FPAP), participants, including caretaker provincial ministers, FPAP President Kanwar Waseem, and officials from agencies such as the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Rescue 1122, discussed the critical issue.
International perspectives were also shared by Dominic Ellis of London’s operational directorate for Prevention, Protection, and Operational Policy and Rob Llewn from the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations-Asia (CFPA-A).
A significant revelation was made regarding the lack of firefighting systems in hospitals and educational institutions, including a deficiency in fire exit spaces.
Dr. Junaid Ali Shah, speaking at the symposium, acknowledged the negligence contributing to heavy damages caused by preventable fire incidents. Despite numerous tragedies, regulatory bodies have yet to respond adequately.
The FPAP president highlighted the stagnant progress in implementing the Building Code Fire Safety Prevention, formulated by the Pakistan Engineering Council in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority in 2016. Even after seven years, the absence of action on this critical framework underscores the urgency of addressing the growing threat of fire incidents in Karachi.
