Bangladesh Fire Accident

[Germain Aguilera]

MohamadAbdur Rob worked as a firefighter and team leader for many years at the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence before joining the Dekko Design Garment Factory in Dhaka as a fire safety officer in 2017.

I had to drill through the rooftop to rescue a victim from the rubble. I was able to get deep into the rubble through narrow channels because of my slim build. We worked in 12-hour shifts. I worked like this for three days.

We were assigned to look for casualties in various locations of the collapsed building site, in various pockets of space within the rubble. It was dark and dangerous, with little oxygen available. We used a microphone to call out, "If there is anyone alive, please make noise," and we spotted and rescued injured individuals one by one.

I recall rescuing one victim who was beneath the debris. One of his hands was stuck behind a pillar; there were a dozen dead people scattered around. Some suggested chopping off the hand, but I insisted that a doctor come and inject an anaesthetic into his hand to make it numb so that we could pull his hand from the rubble. Unfortunately, the doctor was unable to enter the tiny, dangerous path and had to hand the needle over to us. I gave the man the shot and pulled him out of the rubble with very little injury to his hand.

During the rescue, I noted that the structure of the Rana Plaza building was not properly built and that protective measures were lacking. I also found out that the workers had noticed the cracks in the building and had wanted to leave the building before it collapsed, but they were forced to remain in the building. The Rana Plaza disaster was mostly due to a lack of awareness about safety precautions and potential dangers.

I wanted to do something for the garment industry so that I wouldn't have to see tragedies like Rana Plaza in the future. Rather than respond to rescue efforts after an accident, I wanted to prevent such disasters from occurring in the first place.

I am secretary of the fire safety committee. We advise workers and factory management by raising awareness, increasing their ability to jointly minimise risks by taking appropriate steps, and changing attitudes so that everyone is aware of and is capable of preventing and responding to any possible fire incident.

On each floor of the factory, I have installed all the latest preventive and safety measures, such as smoke detectors, fire doors, and fire extinguishers. We have different sorts of extinguishers on each floor based on the type of potential danger. We have told colleagues in charge of power to shut off the electrical system from the central control centre if an incident happens, so that even if a worker forgets to turn anything off, a second process will take care of it. We hold trainings every week, using internal resources and frequently engage the support of fire service personnel. We do fire drills on a regular basis, at least twice a year.

Preventive measures are critical in every workplace, including garment factories. Accidents can be avoided if we identify the risk, prepare ourselves, and take the required precautions in advance. This will help us to save lives, money, and valuable property, also ensuring that none of our loved ones are lost.

The good news is that the situation in garment factories has significantly improved. Workers, management, and everyone else are now communicating with each other, and when everyone is consulted, solutions to problems come automatically. We can tackle any challenge, be it fire safety or any other, if we work together.

ILO expressed its deep sadness over the loss of life, which included nine fire fighters, after chemical-filled containers combusted, one after another, around midnight on Saturday, at the BM Container Depot.

The cause of the fire near the main Chittagong Seaport, southeast of the capital, Dhaka, was not immediately determined, but Bangladeshi officials on Monday reportedly said containers of hydrogen peroxide were incorrectly labelled, and firefighters used water instead of foam, to extinguish the blaze.

Recently government, employer and worker representatives have agreed to roll out a comprehensive Employment Injury Scheme, beginning with the ready-made garment sector and possibly extending to other sectors, according to ILO.

The proper governmental monitoring of industries to ensure that industrial and accidental risks are properly understood, addressed and prevented is essential to improving safe working conditions in Bangladesh, ILO spelled out.

Bangladesh has a long and tragic history of fire-related accidents resulting in massive damage across different parts of the country. From the tragic incident at Nimtoli in 2010 to the recent Gulistan explosion (March 2023) that took the life of at least 21 people, fire accidents are now becoming increasingly common.

Dr Shanawez Hossain is an Assistant Professor at the Global Studies and Governance (GSG) department at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). He can be reached at: [email protected]. Ahmad Tousif Jami. Sketch: TBSAhmad Tousif Jami is a research assistant and student at GSG, IUB. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.

The inferno at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture, broke out around midnight Saturday following explosions in a container full of chemicals. The cause of the fire could not be immediately determined. The depot is located near country's main Chittagong Seaport, 216 kilometers (134 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.

At least nine firefighters were among the dead, according to Brig. Gen. Main Uddin, director general of the Bangladesh fire service and civil defense. More than 10 others were being treated for burns, he added.

Multiple rounds of explosions occurred after the initial blast as the fire continued to spread, Uddin said. Explosives experts from Bangladesh's military have been called in to assist the firefighters. The explosions shattered the windows of nearby buildings and were felt as far as 4 kilometers (2 1/2 miles) away, officials and local media reports said.

Global brands, which employ tens of thousands of low-paid workers in Bangladesh, have come under fire to improve factory conditions in recent years. In the country's massive garment industry, which employs about 4 million people, safety conditions have improved significantly after massive reforms, but experts say accidents could still occur if other sectors do not make similar changes.

In 2019, a blaze ripped through a 400-year-old area cramped with apartments, shops and warehouses in the oldest part of Dhaka and killed at least 67 people. Another fire in Old Dhaka in a house illegally storing chemicals killed at least 123 people in 2010.

Bangladesh has by far the worst record of major apparel producing countries with respect to fatal accidents involving workers. In the last six weeks, fatal fires at two export apparel factories in Dhaka have focused renewed attention to the need for industry-wide solutions in the critical area of workplace safety.

With this in mind, the WRC has offered the following recommendations to buyers of apparel from Bangladesh. The recommendations were jointly developed with the Clean Clothes Campaign, Maquila Solidarity Network, and International Labor Rights Forum, incorporating proposals from the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers Federation, the Solidarity Center, and a number of local labor rights organizations in Bangladesh. We recognize that further dialogue among a wider group of stakeholders will be crucial to their further development and implementation.

The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations; issues public reports on factories producing for major brands; and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights.

On the 5th of June 2022, a fire broke out at the container terminal close to Chittagong port causing unprecedented loss of lives and property. According to senior port officials, there has been almost 50 fatalities and numerous injuries. While the loss of lives and properties is the biggest tragedy in the shipping industry this year so far, this incident also tells us why this sector needs to put in a bigger effort towards increasing the safety of its workers, the surrounding areas, and the environment.

According to SI Nurul Alam, the fire broke out at around 9 pm on the 4th of June at the BM Inland Container Depot- a joint venture of Bangladesh and the Netherlands. However, the first explosion occurred around midnight. This was followed by several explosions at a container filled with hazardous substances. Soon after the fire spread from one container to another.

This container terminal is located near the Chittagong port the main international seaport of the country. Even some of the firefighters present on spot to douse the flame were injured. The explosions shook the surrounding areas and even shattered the windowpanes of neighboring houses. Several people are still missing and death toll could even rise further. A special unit of Bangladesh military was aiding the firefighters to bring the situation under control. In addition, the troops also worked to prevent the chemicals from contaminating the canals in the surrounding coastal areas. However, a lot of chemical substances are still present on the spot causing breathing problems for the people living nearby.

Fire fighters and government officials finally brought the fire under control three days after the explosion. As of now, the fire has been doused completely. Moreover, there is no further risk of explosion since the fire fighters have singled out all the containers containing chemicals. Putting out the fire was all the more difficult since the firefighters first arrived at the terminal thinking it to be a small fire. They had no idea about the extent of the fire or about the presence of hazardous goods in the containers. Additionally, around 25 fire brigades relentlessly fought for nearly 20 hours to bring the fire under control. At least 9 firefighters succumbed to the accident and several of them are recovering in the hospital.

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