ASSIGNMENT

On

“History of Fire damage in Bangladesh mentioning its preparedness.”

Date of Submission: August, 14, 2021.

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Md. Shofiqul Islam Md. Rasal Ali
Assistant Professor | Institute of Disaster Roll No. 2173906
Management (IDM) Cell: +8801738143179
Khulna University of Engineering & Technology Email: rasalali01@gmail.com
(KUET)
Khulna 9203, Bangladesh
Telephone |+88041769468-75, Ext: 8727
Skype | shofiqul.ce08
Web | http://www.kuet.ac.bd/idm/msislam
Introduction: Among all the urban hazards, fire is one of the most frequently happening hazard
in Bangladesh. According to International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA)
report, calamity is a severe interruption of the running of a public or a society at any scale due to
harmful events interacting with conditions of exposure, susceptibility and capacity, resulting in
one or more of the following: human, substantial, commercial and ecological losses and
influences (Ahmad and Murray, 2018; Green et al., 2019). A disaster is a phenomenon which can
be natural or man-made, small-scale, large-scale, frequent, non-frequent, a slow onset and a
sudden onset. It is most important for the people to know about the disasters and managing the
disaster by designing effective, realistic and coordinated preparedness. As well as, Bangladesh is
also vulnerable because of huge population, unplanned and illegal structures, poor utility
management and unawareness which lead into a large number of urban hazards. In Bangladesh
from 2004 to 2020, the reported fire incidents set up in the newspaper and other news portals
occurred often and the most happening scam about in Bangladesh (Islam and Hossain, 2018). As
people are migrating from village to town, most of the people end up in the slums in terms of
searching work or livelihood. Most of them work in the garments factory or other factory and as
a household worker. According to Ahmed (2018) study, Bangladesh was the 5th most vulnerable
country to disasters in the world on the basis of disaster risk index 2016. Dutta (2018) reported
that according to the news report of March 13, 2018, since 2010, only in Dhaka city over 4500
houses have been destroyed and 22 people killed because of the slum fire. A report of World
Vision Bangladesh shows that fires particularly in slums are common because of the typically
flammable building materials in slums, (timber, bamboo, etc) fires ignite and blowout without
difficulty, particularly during the month of March to May in summer season (Helen, 2019; Dutta,
2018). On December 4, 2015, at least 526 shanties were gutted in a fire in Boubazar slum of
Karail (Mintu, 2017). On June 16, 2018 at least 65 families had their homes destroyed in the
devastating fire at the Fashertek Balur Math slum in Vatara of Dhaka caused by the cooking fire
(Rabbi, 2018). Moreover, On January 1, 2018 and February 17, 2018, 100 shanties were destroyed
in Karwan Bazar slum and 200 shanties were burnt in Bashbari slum area of Mohammadpur
respectively (Mollah, 2018; Razon and Ahmad, 2017). This slum fire causes disruption in social
and economic sector including loss of life, destruction of health and properties. In addition, on
July 30, 2020, fire has been occurred again in the Bhasantek area of Mirpur (Anonymous, 2020).
To protect the community against fire disasters or hazards, disaster preparedness leads to
policies and procedures to enable an effective response during the event. In our study, it is found
that, though the area has several risks of causing fire, the preparedness level of the community
is so poor.
Process and Methodology: Appropriate Methodology brings outcome of disaster assessment a
fruitful, active and reliable, shown in the image 01 according to the Joint Needs Assessment Team
of Bangladesh.
History of Fire in Bangladesh: Looking a few years back can prove the fact that the damages of
fire accidents are very high in rate. For example, fire in Tazreen Fashion Garment Factory in
Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka is one of the worst industrial tragedies of Bangladesh that
illustrates the high quantity of damages.

An average of 53 fires happened, daily, in 2018. The number of fires has increased more than
threefold across Bangladesh since 1997; with the year 2018 seeing a daily average of 53. Fire
Service and Civil Defense statistics showed that around 250,000 fires occurred in the country
between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2018, according to the online database Dataful.
These fires also caused an estimated financial loss of around Tk6,400 crore to the nation. At least
1,970 people were killed in around 200,000 fires across the country between 2004 and 2018,
according to available fire service data. Urban experts attribute the sharp rise in fires to
unplanned urbanization, the violation of rules for constructing buildings, carelessness among the
public, increased use of gas cylinders and devices, plus a lack of supervision by the authorities
concerned. Last year saw the highest number of fires: of 19,642. However, the highest number
of casualties —365 dead and 1,385 injured—was recorded in 2011. In terms of financial losses,
2015 was the deadliest year as the country suffered a loss of an estimated Tk850 crore in 17,488
fires. According to fire service data, around 5,802 fires occurred in 1997, but these increased
more than threefold over the years.

However, the number of casualties has been dropping over the last few years; except in 2018. In
2006, 9,542 fires killed 91 people and injured 873 more. Seventy people were killed and 210
others were injured in 17,830 fires in 2014; while 68 died and 216 were injured in 17,488 fires in
2015. The following year, 52 people were killed and 247 injured in 16,858 fires, while 45 people
killed and 269 injured in 18,105 fires the following year. However, the number of casualties
marked a sharp rise last year as 130 people were killed and 664 were injured in 19,642 fires, those
are shown in Table-01 and Figure-01.
Table 1: Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFCD) report on fire incident for 17 years in
Bangladesh.
Approximate
Year Total fire incident property damage Death tolls
(USD)
2004 6850 189.55 53
2005 5202 151.33 23
2006 9542 298.45 91
2007 9196 386.55 160
2008 9310 288.6625 229
2009 12182 382.375 118
2010 14682 407.0625 63
2011 15815 366.8625 365
2012 17504 602.9875 210
2013 17912 974.6375 161
2014 17830 449.15 70
2015 17488 1071.1875 68
2016 16858 300.5375 52
2017 18105 364.23 45
2018 19642 378.8 130
2019 24074 423.33 184
2020 21544 388.12 142

Fig.01: History of Fire in Bangladesh Source: Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense (BFCD)
Preparedness of Fire Damage: Fire disasters mainly happen because of unconsciousness of
people. For example, the fatal fire disaster in Tazreen factory mainly occurred because of low
safety measures and unawareness of factory authorization. In maximum cases the fire could have
been caused by an electrical fault or by a spark from a cigarette. Apart from throwing cigarettes
here and there, fire incidents may also happen because of leaving the gas stove on, by playing
with fire materials, keeping flammable objects close to fire sources, etc. Most of the factories in
Bangladesh are lack of Fire Alarms. Properly working smoke alarms decrease your chances of
dying in a fire by half. Smoke alarms should place on every level of your residence. Place them
outside bedrooms on the ceiling or high on the wall (4 to 12 inches from ceiling), at the top of
open stairways, or at the bottom of enclosed stairs and near (but not in) the kitchen.
“Many factories are in cramped neighborhoods and have too few fire escapes and they widely
flout safety measures.” Like, in that factory, there were not enough exits. “So, the workers could
not come out when the fire engulfed the building,” said Major Mahbub, the operations directed
for the fire department, according to the associated press. According to Bangladesh National
Building Code, fire exit routes have to be designed in a way that they remain unobstructed. A
building will have fire-rated doors and be connected directly to the road for easy access and exit.
So, having enough exits and making them wide and open are important as prevention. Consider
escape ladders if your residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other
antitheft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
Besides factories and people in the community do not keep Flammable Items in a proper way.
They should never use gasoline, benzine, naphtha, or similar flammable liquids indoors and store
flammable liquids in approved containers in well-ventilated storage areas. Never smoke near
flammable liquids and discard all rags or materials that have been soaked in flammable liquids
after they have used them. It should safely discard them outdoors in a metal container. On the
other hand, insulate chimneys and place spark arresters on top. The chimney should be at least
three feet higher than the roof. Remove branches hanging above and around the chimney
In the households and factory, be careful when using alternative heating sources. Check with the
local fire department on the legality of using kerosene heaters in the community. Be sure to fill
kerosene heaters outside, and be sure they have cooled. Place heaters at least three feet away
from flammable materials. Make sure the floor and nearby walls are properly insulated. Use only
the type of fuel designated for your unit and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Store ashes in a
metal container outside and away from the residence. Keep open flames away from walls,
furniture, drapery, and flammable items. Keep a screen in front of the fireplace. Have heating
units inspected and cleaned annually by a certified specialist.
About 39% cases Electrical short circuit responsible for Fire occurrences. Every residence should
have the electrical wiring in their residence and checked by an electrician. Inspect extension cords
for frayed or exposed wires or loose plugs and make sure outlets have cover plates and no
exposed wiring. Make sure wiring does not run under rugs, over nails, or across high-traffic areas.
Do not overload extension cords or outlets. If need to plug in two or three appliances, get a UL-
approved unit with built-in circuit breakers to prevent sparks and short circuits.
The urban expert said the government will have to intensify its disaster management and
prevention activities in urban areas—as well as launch a countrywide campaign—to raise
awareness about the causes of fire. In addition, raising massive awareness among people is one
of the important facts. People should know the use of the fire equipment and also should have
the primary skills to provide an initial treatment for the victims who are affected.
Conclusion: From this qualitative study, conclusions can be drawn that Bangladesh is in a
vulnerable situation in terms of fire hazard. It is observed that the most important reason behind
risk is “Lack of knowledge”. From humanitarian context government should be more concern
about their fire safety mechanisms. Though it is very difficult for a single organization to provide
necessary support and help regarding fire management, so we need to come forward together
to help this vulnerable and deprived community with proper guidance and creating individual
awareness among the locality.

References:
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role for occupational health. Occupational Medicine, 68(7):422–424.
https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqy058
2) Anonymous, (2016). Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense. (BFCD),
(http://www.fireservice.gov.bd/)
3) Islam Z, Hossain K.M, (2018). “Fire Hazards in Dhaka City: An Exploratory Study on
Mitigation Measures”. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology
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http://www.theindependentbd.com/home/printnews/141175
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Challenges with Disaster Mortality Data and Measuring Progress Towards the
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https://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/shutterstories/ravaged-fire-1548112
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9) https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/02/26/fire-incidents-in-
bangladesh-triple-over-22-years
10) https://dataful.xyz/