Staff Correspondent
As many as 201 fire brigade stations throughout the country including 13 in the city have been working with inadequate equipment and manpower over the decades to bring fires under control.
Fires, for different reasons regularly take place and damage huge amount of private and public assets making a good number of people poor, and taking considerable toll of lives.
Fire Brigade Director General Brig Gen Abu Nayeem Md Sahidullah said that his institution has adequate equipment and trained manpower to control fires up to six-storey structures. Owners of over six-storey structures will have to set up all sorts of protective systems including development of fire extinguishing and earth quake disaster preventive system in entire building in order to ensure security for the people as per building code.
He said there are not enough spaces along side buildings where fire brigade vehicles can easily enter to work and traffic jam is another bar for fire brigade for not quickly reaching places of occurrence though within 30 seconds after getting information, fire brigade can start to move. A vehicle at the stations is always ready along with uniformed personnel.
During working, fire brigade-men face different problems including huge public gathering and unnecessary directions by common people to fire brigade-men. People working at different business establishments and shopping malls should be aware about fire incidents and how to prevent it.
Citing example of Bashundhara inferno, DG said all sorts of fire extinguishing equipments were on hand but people there were unable to use these equipment. People at different places have to be trained up by any means without any delay. “Around 172 more fire brigade stations in the country by 2012 will be set up and three projects are going on with a view to strengthening fire brigade infrastructure,” he said, adding that he hailed the government declaration for setting up fire brigade station at every upazila.
Replying to query, he said that helicopter is not effective system to extinguish fire at high rise buildings and it is usually used for putting out bush fires.
It may be pointed that in 2008, around 9310 fire incidents occurred throughout the country damaging valuable assets worth Tk 230 crore.
Courtesy of The Bangladesh Today
