{"id":27454,"date":"2023-11-23T05:30:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T05:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/90pc-buildings-in-karachi-have-no-firefighting-system-moot-told\/"},"modified":"2023-11-23T05:30:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T05:30:05","slug":"90pc-buildings-in-karachi-have-no-firefighting-system-moot-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/90pc-buildings-in-karachi-have-no-firefighting-system-moot-told\/","title":{"rendered":"90pc buildings in Karachi have no firefighting system, moot told"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>KARACHI: City planners, engineers and experts of building plans at a symposium were sure on Wednesday that some 90 per cent of all structures in Karachi \u2014 residential, commercial and industrial \u2014 did not have fire prevention and firefighting system and agreed that it was \u2018a criminal negligence\u2019 on the part of the regulatory bodies like Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) that put lives of millions of people in the metropolis at risk.<\/p>\n<p>The experts referred to the data that more than 15,000 people lost their lives and suffered losses of over a trillion rupees every year due to fire accidents across the country which mainly occurred in urban areas where majority of residential, commercial and industrial structures were raised in violation of defined building rules.<\/p>\n<p>The warning regarding challenges of growing fire incidents and their possible prevention and available solutions came at the National Fire Safety Symposium &amp; Risk Based Awards organised by Fire Protection Association of Pakistan (FPAP) at a local hotel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--left  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1575910\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Experts from across Pakistan presented their papers and shared their experiences and expertises in fire prevention and safety.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote-level-1\">\n<p>Experts say implementing fire safety laws could save thousands of lives<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>They warned that growing concrete structures without following the defined building code posed serious threats to hundreds of thousands of lives and asked the government to move fast for effective implementation of fire prevention and firefighting laws \u201cbefore it\u2019s too late\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The symposium was addressed by Sindh caretaker Minister for Industries, Commerce and Revenue Younus Dagha and caretaker Minister for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Dr Junaid Ali Shah and officials from Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Rescue 1122 and representatives of corporate sector.<\/p>\n<p>Dominic Ellis, deputy commissioner and operational director for prevention, protection and operational policy of London and Rob Llewellyn of Confederation of Fire Protection Associations &#8211; Asia (CFPA-A) also addressed the symposium through video link.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI heard experts here who referred to the data that 70 per cent of buildings don\u2019t have fire prevention and fighting system,\u201d said Mr Dagha while addressing the symposium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe that the number might be much higher and it would be something around 90 per cent. But today in this symposium I have brought secretary of industries and MD SITE [Sindh Industrial Trading Estate] just to reflect on our plan. We have a meeting of SITE board next week where we would approve all proposals discussed here today for fire prevention and fighting. There are some 30,000 to 40,000 industrial structures in Sindh and we would start from here in Karachi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Junaid Ali Shah said that majority of hospitals and educational institutions did not have firefighting system or emergency fire exit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to such negligence we see fire incidents cause heavy damages. These fire incidents can be prevented, if the system remains in place,\u201d said Dr Shah.<\/p>\n<p>FAPF president Kunwar Wasim said higher number of fire related tragedies had failed to serve as a wake-up call for regulatory bodies and implementing authorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Building Code Fire Safety Prevention, which was prepared by the Pakistan Engineering Council in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, was passed in 2016 but even after seven years, we haven\u2019t moved an inch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot a single clause of this code is implemented in Karachi. It\u2019s so unfortunate that the regulatory body like SBCA doesn\u2019t even bother about fire safety. It neither cooperates with those who want prevention and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tariq Moin, director training and projects of FPAP, said most fire protection equipment at buildings were ineffective and only put in place to meet \u2018legal formalities\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir refilling doesn\u2019t meet the required standards and no one is there to certify their fitness and test their effectiveness,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Fawad Barry of Haseen Habib, a fire safety equipment and systems solution provider, said: \u201cApart from an estimated 15,000 deaths and over a trillion rupees financial losses across Pakistan, some 150,000 suffer burn wounds due to these fire incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KARACHI: City planners, engineers and experts of building plans at a symposium were sure on Wednesday that some 90 per cent of all structures in Karachi \u2014 residential, commercial and industrial \u2014 did not have fire prevention and firefighting system and agreed that it was \u2018a criminal negligence\u2019 on the part of the regulatory bodies 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