Take strict action against those responsible for fire

Very often we have no hand in natural calamity but being a little careful we can prevent some accidents for which we are alone to blame. Fire accident is one of them. Of course, sometimes precautionary measures even may not work but we must work to take some preventive measures.

On the afternoon of March 4, an explosion at Shema Oxygen Oxico Ltd in Kadamrasul area in Chattogram’s Sitakunda Upzila killed six people and injured 25 others. The accident happened as massive fire broke out following the explosion.

Earlier, the same kind of explosion caused a massive fire at the BM Container Depot at the same upzila of Chattogram as if the area is destined to face fire incidents one after another. Following an explosion and fire on June 4 last year at the BM Container Depot claimed the lives of 51 people while over 200 others were injured, let alone property damage.

As soon as the incident was over, another deadly explosion took place at a commercial building in Dhaka’s Science Lab left three people dead and at least 13 injured on Sunday morning (March 5, 2023).

Meanwhile, what is noticeable and shocking is six months before that incident a team of Bangladesh Investment Authority visited the depot and it found fire hazards. The team detected combustible materials near electronic machines but no fire hydrant system.

On December 28, 2021, the BIDA team under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) visited the depot. It submitted its report to the higher authorities on March 29, 2022. The investigators soon after the incident told the media at that time that it had found 17 different violations including those involving fire safeties.

The depot had no clearance from the Department of Environment and district administration office. Even it obtained no licence from the Energy Regulatory Commission. There were so many other gross violations of the rule and law of the country.

They said the depot authorities knew well their gross negligence but they had not taken any steps to correct them. They also said the explosion and the fire that had killed 51 people could have been averted if the depot authorities had implemented the recommendations of the report submitted by the team. But pathetically the depot authorities didn’t do that and about the action against the persons responsible is well known.

This time, after the explosion and fire, a seven-member probe team was formed to investigate the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire. In the case of BM Container Deport incident a probe committee was also formed. We are very much familiar with such probe committees. Finally nothing happens. Probe committees submit their reports on time but they are never implemented.

We want implementations of probe committee reports. We want any kind of warning to be taken into consideration by the organizations or establishment concerned. If not, the government should take legal steps against those people responsible for the deaths of people and damage to the lives and properties. If the government fail to go tough on those who are doing their businesses and drawing profits at the cost of common people then such incidents will never come to a stop.

Where the explosion and fire broke out undoubtedly is a very sensitive place and arrangement of combustible materials should accordingly be kept so that if something even goes wrong there will be no major damage to lives and properties. We have to wait and see what exactly caused that massive explosion and the subsequent fire.

We hope the government will take measures appropriately against those responsible for the accident.