RAWALPINDI: Out of over 160 high rise buildings in Rawalpindi district – only one building fulfills the criteria of fire safety regulations set by the government and it has its own crew that can undertake evacuation procedures with one minute emergency call.

On the other hand, following the Gul Plaza Karachi worst fire disaster, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz has ordered a detailed survey and installation of fire hydrants in high rise , while all sensitive areas have been marked and re-evaluated and the relevant authorities have been requested to ensure compliance with fire safety provisions.

The only high rise building located alongside The Mall is meeting the key fire safety regulations set by government such as having fire hydrants, the emergency exits during an event of fire. Besides the building also has fire alarms and detection and sprinkling system, in addition to having their own team who can conduct evacuation within a minute after an emergency call.

District Emergency Officer (DEO) Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi Sibghat Ullah said while talking to Dawn the Rawalpindi station has 19 fire vehicles with more than 300 fire fighters who are well trained and equipped to handle any event.

“The rescue 1122 firefighters are also having life detection cameras and also keeping “acoustic listening device” with them, the DEO said and added: “There are three grades of fire, 1,2 and 3. Water is the best to fight fire of any grade.”

He said according to building safety regulations, buildings should have exit stairs, external fire hydrants, encroachment free, having fire extinguishers, free detection and alarm system, internal Hydrant and Sprinklers system and to conduct regular fire drills.

The building safety grading has also been done such as A,B, C and D, while the buildings which have no fire safety provisions are declared as unsafe buildings. He said that 127 buildings which were not meeting the fire safety regulations set by the government had been issued the first notice to fulfill the fire safety regulations.

Of the 127 buildings which fulfilled safety measures, the remaining 82 buildings were issued second notice; later the remaining 16 were issued the third notice to comply with the fire safety requirements in line with their category.

Now there are only two buildings which are issued final and third notice, he added.

He said that after the third notice is ignored, a final notice is issued and then recommendation is made to the relevant department to seal those buildings.

The DEO further said that whenever a layout plan is submitted with the RDA, it is forwarded to the Rescue 1122 for examining whether the fire safety regulation set by government was followed or not after that the NOC is issued and later the building is examined before issuing a completion certificate.

“Every high-rise structure should have its own emergency response team. And, most importantly, the building should have emergency exits with emergency lights installed,” said DEO Sibghat Ullah, adding that the Rescue 1122 Punjab team is the only one in South Asia that is certified.

While expressing concern over the closure of gates erected at Bank Road and now the closure of traffic with gates is underway for Raja Bazar, he said that he had a letter to the City Traffic Police and RMC to ensure the availability of keys of locks of those gates to ensure their timely response and access in case of any emergency.

People, especially the traders of Saddar and Raja Bazaar have already been protesting against the closure of Bank Road and Raja Bazaar for traffic and demanding to allow the traffic movement as it has badly affected their business.

Besides, there are many commercial buildings in the city which are not having proper exits, and some buildings are having exits which have been encroached by shopkeepers making it hard to exit. Recently, the survey of such buildings had also been conducted by the relevant departments but the situation has not improved.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2026