Lack of fire safety causes deaths

The latest inferno in the Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj has again raised questions about nonchalant attitude of the concerned authorities in implementing proper safety measures in all kinds of factories throughout the country.  As a result, fire accidents and other disasters like building collapses recur every now and then.      

According to some estimates, at least 366 people died and several hundreds were injured in around 8 major factory fire incidents during the past 16 years until the last Friday's Rupganj blaze in Narayanganj in which over 52 people were burnt to death. 

Fire accidents have become common in Bangladesh and in other countries in the South Asian region as factory owners have remained loath to follow proper fire safety procedures in their factories despite recurrence of such accidents one after another.    

In the Hashem Foods factory incident, Fire Service officials preliminary held the factory management responsible of criminal negligence in installing fire safety procedures and equipment.  It was not immediately clear what the relevant government agencies did to ensure fire safety at the Hashem Foods factory after disasters like Rana Plaza collapse or fire at Tazreen Fashions, Tampaco Foils and Churihatta chemical warehouse during the past decade.

According to reports, the ground floor of the factory of Hashem Foods Ltd in Narayanganj’s Rupganj caught fire in the afternoon. Although the fire was almost tamed after some hours, it flared up once again on the fourth and fifth floors of the six-storey building. But with no signs of many missing workers trapped inside, tempers flared among their relatives who had gathered outside the factory.

At one point they started hurling stones at another building on the periphery of the factory compound while reportedly vandalising seven motorcycles and three cars.

Police's efforts to quell the crowd trouble were met with resistance from the protesters, culminating in clashes between the two sides. Police later dispersed the crowds and brought the situation under control.

Later, the firefighters were able to reach the third floor, where the factory manufactured chocolate and hazelnut spread Nocilla. The edible oil, one of the ingredients of the spread, kept the fire on the floor burning for long. The two top floors were still burning, as edible oil was also used there to fry Chanachur and vermicelli. 

At one corner on the third floor, the Fire Service and Civil Defence found at least 25 more bodies. Journalists who rushed to the factory to cover the incident counted 48 body bags being taken out of the building onto ambulances. The authorities said the bags contained the remains of at least 49 victims.

Then a group of firefighters, some of whom had been working since the outbreak of fire, came down. Soaked to the bone, some of them lay on the ground immediately. Their wrinkled soles bore witness how hard they worked, yet the fire could not be doused.         

“They have burnt into charcoal. The charred remains were lying under the debris. How a painful death they died!” shivered fireman Monir Hossain as he recalled the scenes caused by the inferno inside.

It was another factory disaster for Bangladesh.

"There's no justice. I’ve never sought help from anyone when I provided education to my son until HSC. Where is my beloved son?" wailed Nazma Begum, mother of Yasin, a Nocilla unit worker.

She will have to wait for at least three weeks to get the remains of Yasin after the identification of the bodies in DNA tests.

Yasin had to be listed as ‘Ripon’ to hide his age for the work. Many of the victims were underage with some as young as 14 years old, according to their families.

The factory authorities said the adolescent workers claimed that they were aged 18 during recruitment and they were employed as helpers.

As the day wore on, harrowing details of how the factory lacked a fire safety system and proper management were emerging.  

“I was calling my mother from outside the factory first,” said Shamim, who rushed to factory where his mother Amrita Begum worked. “I cried and shouted.”

“The security guard wasn’t letting me inside. I entered the building and went up to the third floor after an argument, but returned as the flames grew bigger,” Shamim said.

“The security guard on the third floor did not let anyone get down,” he alleged. “My mother would have come out had the guard let them go.”

“I don’t know where my mother is now, or if she’s still alive,” Shamim sobbed.

His account of the incident backs the finding of the Fire Service and Civil Defence that one of the staircases to the rooftop was locked, a grim reminder of the 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire.

Like the Tazreen incident, witnesses and survivors said many workers jumped off the Hashem Foods factory building for survival.

The building did not have any fire extinguisher or an emergency exit route, according to officials.

Lt Col Zillur Rahman, the Fire Service's director of operations, said the building, spanning approximately 35,000 square feet, only had two exit staircases.

However, a building of this size needed at least four to five staircases, according to him.

Moreover, one of the exit staircases was locked, firefighters said.

“We rescued 25 people after setting a ladder to the rooftop. We could’ve saved more if others could reach the rooftop,” said Debashish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service.

Hashem Foods’ parent company Sajeeb Group denied the allegations. Besides Nocilla, the products made by the company at the factory included Tang drink mix, Shezan Juice, Bournvita health drink and Kolson macaroni at the factory.

“We invested Tk 7 billion on this factory compound, employing more than 2,000 workers. We’ve been doing business by following the rules. But this fire incident has put me to the test late in my life,” said 68-year old Abul Hashem, the managing director of Sajeeb Group.

Narayanganj district administration and the Fire Service have launched separate investigations into the latest tragedy.