Risk of Fire

1)Introduction:

Dhaka is the city which has glorious past and history of 400 years. The

capital of Bangladesh is also known as one of the densely populated cities in the world. Over the years

it has developed as the most important urban center of Bangladesh. Most of the important investment

and development are highly concentrated in Dhaka and its surrounding areas. That’s why for better

scope and better life chances most of the people choose Dhaka. The city is now experiencing

continuous growth both in size and population. The rapid growth of population in the city is exerting

tremendous pressure on the limited amount of available land. And because of this extra pressure from

the population high-rise buildings are constructed like mushrooms for both commercial and residential

purpose to fulfill the need of this population (Bangladesh Environment volume one: main report,

2002-03:41). In Dhaka a major concentration of tall buildings is observed in Motijheel. Motijheel is

one of the principal commercial areas of Dhaka city. It is situated at the heart of the city and is the

center of all economic activities. All the major banks head office and big corporate houses have their

office in Motijheel. During dry season occurrences of fire incidence is very common for Dhaka city.

Specifically in slums, garment factories and small manufacturing industries. But after the fire incident

in the Ntv building in 2007 and fire in Bashundhara city shopping complex on 13 th March, 2009 it is

very alarming for us that high rise buildings are also in the risk of fire. Beside this study shows that

electrical fault in the buildings is an important reason of causing fire in the Dhaka city (Alam,

Md.Jobair.B and Baroi,George N,2004.Fire Hazard categorization and risk assessment for Dhaka city

in GIS Framework). That’s why the current study tries to show the condition of Motijheel commercial

area which is such an important area of Dhaka when high rise buildings are considered in the great risk

of fire1.For study purpose both government and non-government buildings are included and some

opinions of the respondents about fire like situation are also given.

1 Fire is defined as a chemical process involving rapid oxidation of a combustible material producing heat and flame. Fire thus involves a chemical union between oxygen and fuel that has a temperature raised to its ignition point by addition of heat.(Islam,1985:78)

1

1.1)Rationale of the study:

During this time of rapid urban growth only few works

have been done on fire Hazard which is very small considering to the overall fire risk. And no specific

work has been found also which is related to the study area. On the other hand the important thing is

that most of the high- rise buildings in Dhaka are not in build fire fighting facilities and that’s why

there is a chance of risk. Beside this in recent times Bangladesh is in a great risk of earthquake and the

earthquake disaster risk index has placed Dhaka among the 20 most vulnerable cities in the world (The

Daily Star, 6th July, 2004.“Earthquake hazard: Dhaka city perspective”). It is very shocking because

during earthquake any faulty electricity and gas line can also cause serious fire. For this reason the

current research has been done to know the situation of fire risk in Motijheel commercial area which is

one of the important place of Dhaka and the center of all national level economic activities.

1.2)Objectives of the study:

The main objective of the research was to find out the

fire risk in the buildings of Motijheel commercial area. It is the area where the most of the important

high rise buildings2 of Dhaka can be found such as Bangladesh Bank, Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Jiban

Bima Bhaban, Sonali Bank, Dhaka Stock Exchange etc. and also some other important corporate and

commercial offices. Beside this some other issues such as existence of fire warning system in the

buildings, people’s knowledge about the fire equipments, their personal experience and opinion about

fire hazard3, any visit from fire service, people’s knowledge about existing law on fire drill, condition

of gas and electricity lines in the buildings these are the other issues followed during the time of the

research.

2 According to Bangladesh National Building Code 1993, a high rise building has been defined as a building which is more than six storeys or 20 meter high.3 Fire hazard is define in our country as any fire that was reported to at least one of the fire service stations of Bangladesh Fire service and Civil Defence. (Islam,1985:78)

2

2) Literature review: There is no specific research on fire risk in the high rise

buildings and also no specific work on fire hazard related with the study area. Only a few newspaper

reports, reports in internet blog, articles, a book and journal have been found on fire hazard.

According to Islam (1985), the major factors behind fire proneness of the city is

that it use highly inflammable material for housing and open flames for cooking, lighting and heating

in low income residential areas, maintenance of little or no gap between and among structures, faulty

systems of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and frequent incendiary attacks on

vehicles during political disturbances. (Islam, M.Aminul, 1985:75)

A study conducted by Alam and Baroi (2004) showed that fire incidence can be

occurred through various sources. In their study they showed that out of 670 fire incidence in 2001,

37% of the cases the cause remained unknown and under investigation. In Dhaka maximum number of

fire incidence caused by electrical fault which accounted for 34% of the total incidence. Highest

number of fire incidence caused by gas occurred in hazardous and less hazardous zone. For about 15%

cases fire incidents are caused by cigarettes, machine’s heat, kitchen, candles and mosquito coils.

A report published by The Daily Star on 21st May, 2006 about a seminar which

was jointly organized by Department of Architecture of Bangladesh University of Engineering and

Technology (BUET) and The Daily Star. The report quoted some of the Architecture students-

Sharmin Sultana who presented her paper on safety and security in office buildings said most office

buildings even in the most posh areas of the city do not have enough security and safety measures.

"Sena Kalyan Bhaban, for example, is rich in security equipment, but the alternative stair went through

the toilets, which is slippery and risky to run during any accident," she noted.

Even in BRAC Inn Centre the main lift and the main stair are together while people do not have easy

access to the alternative stair and its width is also not sufficient, she added. Almost 90 percent office

buildings in the city have been wrongly planned and lack awareness of safety rules.

3

Beside this existing data shows that incidence of fire hazard in Dhaka is

increasing year after year

Table-1

Number of fire incidences in Dhaka city

Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Total

Fire

incidence

736 809 768 734 782 806 833 - 1861 2053 2279

Source: BFSCD, 2001 and the New Age, 2007

In a recent article which is published in The Daily Star on 18th April, 2009 the

author showed that the 17-storied Al-Amin Centre at Dilkusha, constructed in 2001 has two

staircases. But unfortunately, the so-called dedicated 'Fire Escape' is only up to the 10th floor and not

in regular use. Therefore the users from 11 to 17 floors have ONE staircase. Moreover, the staircases

are separated by a distance of 3m (10 feet) and both the staircases continue up to the basement.

In another report of The Daily Star they showed that most of the multi-storey

buildings in the city are dangerously exposed to fire disasters as they lack adequate firefighting

equipment and properly trained personnel. On the other hand study shows risk situation in some high

rise buildings such as Jiban Bima tower. The twenty-storey tower installed the fire safety gear during

the construction of the Tower at Dilkusha. But it already becomes inoperative and it is rendering

completely vulnerable to the fire, said officials and security guards of different offices housed in the

building. The building has an emergency exit but most of the doors of different floors leading to the

emergency exit remain closed round the clock. The hydrants on different floors set up during its

construction have also been out of order for ages, they added. And also the fire extinguishers are not

available on most of the floors.

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3) Theoretical framework:

Giddens (2006) said the process of industrialization

generated the concept of urbanization where a large number of populations move toward cities and

towns. Later the development of modern cities has had an enormous impact not only on habits and

modes of behaviour but on pattern and thoughts of feeling. On that time cities were seen the fount of

dynamism and cultural creativity. Cities maximize opportunities for economic and cultural

development and provide the means of living a comfortable and satisfying existence.

According to Gunther (1981) and Dodge (1996) fire is

one of the earliest innovations of civilization and an essential part of our existence on the earth. Still it

is the dreaded demon which burns everything into ashes when it gets out of control. Fire can cause

widespread destruction within no time and is one of the most feared scourges of modern civilization.

Although fire hazards cannot be fully eliminated, corresponding risk can be minimized by better

preparedness and well planned mitigation strategies developed on the basis of comprehensive analysis

based on his spatial, temporal and causal pattern. It is vital that hazard level be assessed in order to

understand the spatiality of fire hazards and enable distribution of the optimum dynamic resources in a

balanced manner.

Rayner’s (1992) view on this matter is that emergency services need current information to provide

quick and adequate response. Such information includes spatial details on land-use, functions of

structures, access network and availability of resources. To combat the menace of fire hazard it is

required to integrate the spatial context and potential population exposure together with technical and

engineering aspects.

Blakie (1994) says that the concept of vulnerability is important during the time of fire hazard. It is

encompassing the physical relationship between hazards and communities at risk, accident

preparedness and the mitigation and the social geography of potentially affected populations.

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4) Methodology:

For conducting the research a questionnaire was made for interview

where the pattern of the questions was unstructured. Through the questionnaire the main intention was

to find out all possible answers related with fire hazard. That means to know the level of fire risk in the

study area. The method applied here was mixed method. Because the questionnaire was contained

with both qualitative and quantitative type of questions to find out both type of data. And for this

reason during data analysis both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied here.

Motijheel commercial area is a big area and the population of the

commercial area represents the universe of the study. For study purpose six buildings were chosen

from the study area as sampling unit. The buildings are Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Peoples Insurance

Company Limited; ALICO Building (American Life Insurance Company), Jiban Bima Bhaban,

Rahman Chember.All type of employees of these offices was included for interview such as people

from upper and lower rank of these offices. From the employees directly eighteen people were chosen

as sample for interview where sampling technique was random. The buildings were chosen because of

easy access, all have importance and all situated in a position that if any fire occurred they can pose

great threat to others and can also fell in vulnerable situation.

For collecting data only interview technique was applied here. The entire

respondent gave face to face interview. During the time of interview the questionnaire was used as a

guideline and beside the selected questions some other questions were also asked to the respondents on

the basis of the nature of their answer. After the overall data collection all the data is analyzed

manually.

The major limitation of the study was the small sample size and absence of any specific

theory related with the topic. Considering to the overall boundary of the study area very small number

of buildings are covered for study. Besides this absence of building authorities opinion on fire fighting

facilities of the building and failure to get any opinion of the nearest fire station officials is another

limitation the study.

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5) Importance of the study area:

During this time of rapid population growth

urban boundaries are enhancing haphazardly. That’s why any area of Dhaka can be under the risk of

fire. According to DFID (Department for International Development) fire is the fourth largest disaster

of Bangladesh. There is an argument that most of the structures of Dhaka during the time of

construction didn’t follow the rules and regulation. On the other hand in most of the commercial and

residential buildings there are many electricity lines, gas line and highly powerful chemicals are also

used where any carelessness can cause fire(Bangladesh: Disaster report,2001:147). Beside this crisis

of water is another problem during fire situation because in most of the areas the extra source of water

such as Pond, swamps are filled with earth for establishing new structure.

For the current study Motijheel is chosen not only because it is the important economic center of

Bangladesh but also it can fell into all the assumptions make for fire risk. The most important thing is

that some of the buildings of the area can also play an important role to show others how to take

preparation for fire like situation. Beside this presence of Bangabhaban, offices of some important

national Daily, renowned educational institutions such as Ideal school and college and Notre Dame

College and the Kamalapur Railway Station which is close to the area also increase the significance of

the area.

7

Figure-1 Boundary of Motijheel Area.

6) Major findings of the study:

For conducting the research the major

limitation was that the sample size was too small. Though both government and non-government

buildings are chosen for study but considering to the total area of Motijheel only 6 buildings are

covered for the study. But still some important findings are come out from the conducted research

which included the respondent’s knowledge about their office, the overall fire fighting facilities of the

buildings, occurrence of any fire drill, respondents knowledge about nearest fire station, condition of

the gas and electricity lines, incidence of any fire service inspection, precautionary measurement for

fire like situation, respondents personal experience in fire and some of their opinion about their

working places for preventing fire situation.

6.1)Fire fighting facilities in the buildings:

The main intention of the study was to see

the risk of fire in the buildings of Motijheel. That’s why respondents were asked about the existing

facilities in the buildings for control fire situation. Questions were asked on the fire fighting

equipments and respondents knowledge about those equipments. Considering the overall study among

the six buildings of the study area three buildings such as Sena Kalyan Bhaban, Peoples Insurance

Company Limited and ALICO building have better fire fighting facilities. On the other hand among

the other 3 buildings only Sonali Bank has fire extinguishers and other two have no such facilities in

the building.

Table 2

Patten of the buildings Government Non-Government Total

Existence of proper fire

fighting facilities

- 3 3

Absence of proper fire

fighting facilities

2 1 3

9

Total 2 4 6

Source: Field work, 2009.

6.2) Existence of the Hydrant Box:

Hydrant box is a necessary item for every building in modern time. The respondents were asked about the existence of hydrant box in their building. The answer was categorized into two categories. This is also shown by a table below.

Table-3

Answer of the respondents Number of the respondents

Yes 07

No 11

Total 18

Source: Field Work, 2009.

Seven of the respondents said that in their building they have hydrant box and eleven of the

respondents said that they have no hydrant box. All the seven respondents are from Peoples building

and Sena Kalyan Bhaban. The most important thing is that all the respondents were able to specify the

position of the hydrant box.

10

Hydrant box

6.3) Existence of fire extinguisher:

Fire extinguisher is the most important thing for fire

like situation in both commercial and residential buildings. The respondents were asked about the

existence of fire extinguisher, number of extinguisher in per floor and also their knowledge about how

to handle it.

Table-4

Existence of fire extinguisher Number of respondents

Yes 13

No 05

Total 18


Among the respondents thirteen said that they have fire extinguisher and another five said they have

no extinguisher in the building.

The important thing is that one of the respondents said that in the building they have only one fire

extinguisher which is not working and without any expiry date. Another respondent in the same

building said that the other offices in the building may have fire extinguisher.

6.3.1) Number of fire extinguisher:

11

The important thing is that five of the buildings of the

study area have fire extinguisher. Only in the branch office of the Jiban Bima Bhaban no extinguisher

was found. The number of extinguisher was counted on the basis of per floor.

4 58

24

1 00

5

10

15

20

25

30

Peoples

InsuranceCompany

ALICO

Building

Sena

KalyanBhaban

Sonali Bank

Jiban Bima

Bhaban

Rahmanchamber

Name of the Buildings

To

tal

Nu

mb

er

of

Exti

ng

uis

her(

Per

Flo

or)

Figure-2

Source: Field work, 2009

Figure shows that in the Peoples Insurance Building there are four fire extinguishers in per floor and in

the ALICO building they have five extinguishers. In the Sena Kalyan Bhaban the number of

extinguisher vary from 7/8 in per floor. In Jiban Bima Bhaban only one extinguisher was found. The

building of Sonali Bank is divided into two parts. The ground floor and 1st and 2nd floor is the local

branch of the bank and 3rd to 7th floor is the central part of the bank. The study area was the ground

floor and twenty four extinguishers are allotted for the floor. According to the Establish and

Engineering Division there are 41 extinguishers in the local branch and 79 extinguishers for the central

branch of the bank. And no extinguisher was found in the Rahman Chamber though the building is

nine storeys and situated in an important part of Motijheel.

6.3.2) Condition of the extinguishers:

The important thing is that though most of the buildings

of the study area have fire extinguisher facilities but among them only in The Peoples building, Sena

Kalyan Bhaban and in The ALICO building it is found that they regularly checked the condition of the

12

extinguisher and also change the extinguisher after the date of expiry. But in the case of the other

buildings existence of such activities is not found.

6.3.3) Respondents knowledge on fire extinguisher:

Whether the respondents have any knowledge on using

fire extinguisher or not is another important findings of the study.

Table-5

Respondents knowledge on fire extinguisher Number of respondents

Yes 06

No 12

Total 18


From the study it is found that only six respondents know how to use fire extinguisher and twelve

respondents directly said that they have no idea how to use it.

The important thing is that two of the respondents from Sena Kalyan Bhaban said that few months ago

a fire service drill was occurred in their office but they weren’t shown how to use the fire extinguisher.

Beside this different kind of picture was found in the ALICO Building where the all the interviewee

were from Standard Chartered Bank and one of them said that in their office they are given regular

training on fire extinguisher and they also see how to use it during the time of fire drill.

6.4) Existence of alarm bell and smoke detector:

13

More than half of the respondents ensured the existence

of alarm bell in the building and only five said that they have no such facility in their building. In the

Sonali Bank they have a warning bell which is manually operated. Beside the alarm bell both the

Peoples Building and the ALICO building have smoke detector also. In the Rahman Chamber and

Jiban Bima Bhaban no such facilities were found. In Jiban Bima Bhaban the respondents said that the

facilities are available in their head office.

6.5)Fire exit in the buildings:

According to BNBC (Bangladesh National Building

Code), a fire escape is must in non-residential multi storied building with fire resistant door and also

with easy access and unhindered route4. On the basis of this questions were asked and ten respondents

said that they have fire exit in the building and they also specify the position of the emergence exit

door. On the other hand eight of the respondents said they have no fire exit in the building.

Table-6

Number of fire exit in the buildings

Name of the building Number of fire exit

Peoples Building 02

ALICO Building 02

Sena Kalyan Bhaban 01

Sonali Bank -

Jiban Bima Bhaban -

Rahman Chamber -

4 The Daily Star, 21st April, 2009.p-16, High-rise buildings vulnerable to fire.

14


In Peoples Building they have two fire exit in the left and right side of each floor and the exits are

separated from the main office place by a corridor. In ALICO building both the fire exit are in the

back side of the building and in the Sena Kalyan Bhaban the exit specified by the respondent in the

right side of the building.

The important finding is that in the Rahman Chamber though they have no emergence exit but they

have a staircase in the back side of the building which they can easily use it as an emergence exit

during fire like situation but most of the employees of the building don’t know about the staircase and

it is not used as regular basis. Same case was found in the Jiban Bima Bhaban. The building has an

extra exit in the right side which is found all time locked.

6.5.1)Fire resistant door:

Among all the buildings selected for study only Peoples building and

Sena Kalyan Bhaban have fire exit with fire resistant door. In Sonali Bank one respondent said that

only the volt door of the bank is fire resistant beside this they have no fire resistant door in the

building. In the other selected buildings of the study area only normal doors are used.

6.6) Existence of under water reservoir:

The respondents were also asked about the existence of under water

reservoir in the building.

Table-7

Existence of under water reservoir Number of respondents

Yes 10

No 08

15

Total 18


Ten of the respondents said that in their building they have under water reservoir and eight of the

respondents said they have not. Basically in Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban this facility is

found and in the case of ALICO building though they have no hydrant box still they have under

ground reserve tank in the building for extra water supply.

One of the respondent said that they have reservoir and in case of emergence they can use the nearest

pond of the building. But in the case of other building there is no alternative source to tackle the fire

like situation. Beside this they get insufficient water supply in the building which can make them more

vulnerable during fire like situation.

6.7)Personal fire fighters for the building:

Both Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban have their fire

experts and fire fighting team which is a very significant finding of the study. Beside this in ALICO

building only the Standard Chartered Bank have their own fire fighters and they are given relevant

training. But they don’t know either the building has this facility or not. The other buildings of the

study area have no such type of facility.

6.8) Number of lift and staircases:

The respondents were asked about the lift and staircases of the

building.

Table-8

Name of the building Number of staircase Number of lift

Peoples Building 02 04

ALICO Building 02 -

16

Rahman Chamber 02 02

Sena Kalyan Bhaban 02 06

Jiban Bima Bhaban 02 01

Sonali Bank 02 02


In Rahman Chamber though they have two lift but one of the respondents said that the lifts are

backdated and sometimes mechanical problems are created in the lifts. On the other hand, in Jiban

Bima Bhaban one of the respondents said that they found their lift most of the time in out of order so

they have to use stair on that time.

In Sonali Bank 2lift is found but considering to the building and the number of staff the lifts are not

enough. The building is eight storeys and during the fire situation absence of fire exit can make the life

of the people more vulnerable.

Both the Peoples Building and Sena Kalyan Bhaban have generator facilities to run their lift in case of

emergency.

6.9) Condition of Gas and Electricity line:

The respondents were asked questions whether the gas and

electricity lines are checked regularly or not in their building. One of the common finding of the study

is that all of the buildings have no gas line.

17

12

1

32

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Number of respondent

RegularChecking

NoChecking

Not sure ProblemBasis

Opinion of the respondent

Condition of the electricity line

Figure-3

Source: Field work. 2009

The figure shows that twelve of the respondent said that in their building they check the electricity line

regularly, one of the respondent said that electricity lines are not regularly check in the building. Two

of the respondent said they are not sure whether the building checks the line regularly or not.

Electricity lines are checked if there any problem occurred in the line two of the respondent answered.

Among the respondent three said that it is their office policy to check the line regularly and they have

their own electrician for 24 hours.

In this case study shows that both the government buildings do not check electricity lines regularly.

They call local electrician if any problems occur.

Both the ALICO Building and Peoples Building have their own electrician and they check the

electricity line yearly. In the other buildings such practice is not found.

6.10) Precautionary Measurement:

The respondents were asked about the use of no smoking

sign, sand box and the existence of smoking zone in the building.

Table-9

18

Existence of smoking zone Number of respondent

Yes 00

No 18

Total 18


All of the respondents said that there is no smoking zone in the building. In Peoples Building and

ALICO Building smoking is totally prohibited in the office and smokers generally smoke in the stairs,

toilet or go to outside.

Six of the respondents said that they can smoke anywhere in the office. One said for smoking they

have to go veranda.

In Sonali Bank one of the respondent said that smoking is prohibited in the office but during the time

of interview one of the staff of the office was smoking openly though there was a no smoking sign.

6.10.1) Use of no smoking sign and sand box:

In the buildings only Sena Kalyan Bhaban and Peoples Building

use the no smoking sign and sand box. In the ALICO building smoking is totally prohibited so they do

not smoke in the office and also don’t allow the clients or outsiders to smoke in the office arena.

In Sonali Bank they use both no smoking sign and sand box. But these are not regularly maintained.

One of the respondent said that sand boxes are basically use for spitting and sometimes treated as

dustbin.

6.11) Role of fire service:

Fire service can play an important role in taking precautionary

measurement and aware people about fire hazard. During the time of the study questions were asked

19

on fire drill, respondent’s knowledge about the nearest fire station number, knowledge on existing law

and any visit from fire service.

6.11.1) Occurrence of fire drill:

Among the respondent 44% said that yearly a fire drill occur in their building, 39% said there is no

fire drill occurred in the building and 17% said recently a drill is occurred in the building.

Fire drill in the buildings

Regular fire drill44%

Recently occur17%

No fire drill39%

Figure-4

From the study it is found that only in ALICO Building and Peoples Building yearly fire drill is

occurred. One respondent of Sena Kalyan Bhaban said that though fire drill is not occur regularly but

after the incident of Bashundhara City authority have arranged a drill two months ago. Same type of

drill was also occurred in the Peoples and ALICO building. On the other hand, no drill is occurred in

the Jiban Bima Bhaban and Sonali Bank .

One of the respondent of Rahman Chamber said that couple of months ago a drill was occurred in the

building which was arranged by the authority. But the other respondent had no idea on that because on

that time they were out of the office.

6.11.2) Knowledge on nearest fire station number:

20

During emergency situation fire station number is very important

thing.

Table-10

Personally keep fire station number Number of respondent

Yes 03

No 15

Total 18


Among the eighteen respondents three said that they know nearest fire station number and also keep

the number with them. More than half of the respondents said they do not know the number. All the

respondents who know the nearest fire station number worked in a higher position in the office. One of

them said that though in his office they have no number of fire station but he personally keep the

number for emergency.Eleven of the respondents said that the number is in the reception of the office

and four others were not sure.

6.11.3) Knowledge on existing law:

21

According to BNBC (Bangladesh National Building Code) a

regular fire drill in every three months is mandatory5. Respondents were asked question on this.

Table-11

Knowledge on BNBC law Number of respondent

Yes 03

No 15

Total 18

Among the respondents six said they know about the law through media such as television, newspaper

etc. More than half of the respondents said they have no idea about the law.

One of the respondents said that though he have no idea about the law but his office give him full

training on fire drill after his appointment.

6.11.4) Visit from fire service:

Respondents were asked whether any inspection team come from

fire service. The above figure shows that all of the respondents said that there is no regular visit from

fire service in the building. But eight of them said that in last 2/3 months after the Bashundhara city

fire incidence a fire fighting team came in the building for conducting fire drill. But the important

thing is that during the drill the fire fighting team did not brief them about fire hazard. One of the

respondents said that during the fire drill in his office only the high official took part in drills, they

were just informed about the drill. Beside this when fire fighters created a false fire only few of the

members of the building use the fire exit. The fire fighters showed the use of fire extinguisher only the

higher official of the building.

5 The Daily Star, 21st April, 2009.p-16, High-rise buildings vulnerable to fire.22

0

18

0

5

10

15

20

Number of respondent

Regular visit fromfire service

Novisit

Inspection of fire service

Figure-5


Another important finding is that for conducting the drill the building authority invited the fire fighting

team. Beside this fire service did not take any initiatives in the past. Among all the building employees

of four building ensured about recent drill in the building. But among them only the Standard

Chartered officials of ALICO building have the knowledge to use fire extinguisher. One of the

respondent also said that because of regular drill in their office they have understanding between them

what to do during fire like situation and they have also fire wardens in the building. The case of other

building is that all the employees are not expert like that.

In Rahman Chamber one respondent said that couple of months ago a drill was occurred in the

building but most of the employees were absent because of the official duty.

6.11.5) Respondents personal experience on fire hazard:

Respondents were asked question on their personal experience

on fire hazard. Most of them said they have gained experience from television beside this they have no

such experience in their personal life. One of the respondent said that he saw a fire incident in his area

and fire service came and stop the fire and he personally helped them.

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6.12) Respondents opinion on fire facilities in the building:

Respondent’s opinion was asked about the existing facilities in

the building. One respondent said that though a fire drill is occurred in his building which is only

benefited the fire fighters. But overall participation is needed during this type of drill. Most of the

respondents think that they need to learn the use of fire extinguisher for emergency situation.

Another respondent think for informing and awaring people on fire hazard Government can supply

leaflet or fire service can arrange a program through which people can know better about the hazard.

The same respondent gave another opinion, on his view proper instruction is needed for fire like

situation. Both type of instruction is needed that means if fire occur in the upper part of the building

what will have to do or if it occur in the lower part of the building then what to do. Building lift should

be checked and maintained regularly was the opinion of another respondent.

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7) Conclusion:

The main intention of the research was to see the relation between urban

development and fire risk in the buildings of Motijheel Commercial Area. Though the study was

conducted with some limitations but still some important findings are come out from the research.

The findings of the research indicate that fire fighting facilities have to increase in both Government

and non-government buildings. Fire fighting equipments such as hydrant box, fire extinguishers are

not available in every building and most of the respondents do not know the use of fire extinguisher.

Facilities like alarm bell, smoke detector, fire resistant door, sufficient number of fire exits, personal

fire fighters are only available in the big corporate buildings. Beside this for tackling fire situation

under water reservoir or any extra source of water is not found in all the buildings and insufficient

water supply still exists in the area. Considering to the height of the buildings enough number of lift

and staircases are available in the buildings. But staircases and lifts are not properly maintained in the

Government owned buildings. The important thing is that electricity lines are regularly checked in

most of the buildings. Some has own electrician and others call the local one if any problems occurred.

It is a matter of regret that though Dhaka city is now considering in a great risk of fire and urban

spaces grows rapidly. Fire service is not taking any proper initiatives. In most of the study buildings no

regular fire drill is occurred and there is hardly any visit from fire service for inspecting the condition

of the fire facilities in the building. The recently occurred drills are arranged by the building authority.

Even the respondents do not know the nearest fire station number and they also have no idea about the

existing law on fire drill.

So steps should be taken to solve these problems. People have to give primary

knowledge on fire fighting equipments and also have to show them how to tackle the emergency

situation. Regular fire drill should be conducted under the guidance of fire service and for this

everyone’s participation has to ensure. Government has to take proper initiatives on this. They can

ensure fire resistant door, emergency exit and separate water line in every building and make people

aware about the hazard.

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Fire Extinguisher Modern warning bell

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Situation of the Commercial Buildings, Motijheel.

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Risk of Fire

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Transcript of Risk of Fire