RAWALPINDI: The fire at Imperial Market – the main electronics market of the garrison city – on June 13 has revealed the local administration’s negligence in inspecting and ensuring fire safety measures are present in markets, plazas and other public places.

While two shops were destroyed, the fire did not spread to adjoining markets in Raja Bazaar, where plastic and clothing shops could have caught fire. However, the incident did lead to panic in the nearby residential areas, with many people fearing that it could lead to a situation reminiscent of the Ghakhar Plaza fire in 2008.

The four-storey Ghakhar Plaza in Saddar, that housed over 500 shops, was engulfed by fire on Dec 20, 2008. Within hours, the commercial building was reduced to ashes, 15 people had died and many salespeople were rendered jobless.

Civil Defence official says dept does not have authority to seal shops violating fire safety rules

The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR), Civil Defence and Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) are responsible for ensuring fire safety measures in private and public sector buildings in the city.

The Civil Defence Department is responsible for inspecting buildings and hotels to ensure that fire safety measures are adopted by building owners. The department said it had already issued notices to over 400 building owners in the downtown area.

Civil Defence district officer Sanjeeda Khanum told Dawn that the shops that were destroyed in the recent fire had also been issued notices.

“There are no fire exits, fire hydrants or fire safety equipment in Imperial Market, despite repeated attempts to convince traders to install them. I held a meeting with the shopkeepers and traders association president of the market, but nobody was willing to adopt fire safety measures,” she added.

She said she could issue challans to violators, but the department does not have the authority to seal those plazas and shops.

“In and around Raja Bazaar, the Civil Defence Department has found 500 buildings that were not equipped with fire safety equipment and the department had already served notices on them,” she said.

She said the department was asked to conduct a survey of buildings without fire-fighting arrangements and fire escapes in the district, but “the main problem occurred when owners and the shopkeepers’ association did not cooperate with Civil Defence”.

Ms Khanum also blamed the building departments of civic authorities like the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards, the Rawalpindi Development Authority and the RTMA. She said it was the duty of these departments not to approve a building plan that did not allocate a staircase and fire emergency exits in the main markets and plazas.

According to building bylaws, essential safety measures are required in commercial, industrial and public buildings.

The layout plans of commercial buildings must have exit doors, fire hydrants, fire isolated stairs, emergency elevators, mechanical ventilation and sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, a safety management system and fire control centres.

The district officer said regulations should also require building owners to maintain all safety fittings, equipment and safety measures, as well as those items listed as essential safety measures in developed countries.

She said newly built buildings, who had not adopted fire safety measures, are located in Raja Bazaar, Commercial Market, Benazir Bhutto Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Banni Chowk, College Road (also known as China Market), Moti Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar and other nearby markets.

A senior RTMA official admitted that the building department approved building plans without checking fire safety measures because of corruption. He said the building department’s job was to inspect the site of buildings and high-rises before and after construction, but they often did not make these visits.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016