Overview Of Karachi Factory Fires Incident

In September 2012, the horrible incident occurred which devastated more than 200 families and left a huge sum of mourners. On September, 21st a garment factory situated in Balldia Town Karachi caught fire. According to newspapers estimate death toll was about 260 which is quite terrifying. As soon as the fire started their people started to run but there was only one exit way available which was also covered in fire. In chaotic situation many people jumped out of windows of the building. Most of the windows were also barred due to the security reasons which made escaping the agonizing death even more challenging. Most of people died due to suffocation and lack of fresh air to breathe and others were burnt alive. Few people survived the fire but were severely injured. Loss of this much number of souls stirred a movement and Government, Businessmen, Labor Departments as well as human rights activists opened their eyes to the need of better Health Safety and Environmental conditions.

Historical Background

Pakistan is considered as one of the underdeveloped countries in the world. Although cotton and textile industry are major sector of country`s GDP, still there is no implementation of Health Safety and Environmental guidelines. Capacity building of labor is not under consideration on one hand while on the other labor is hired on the basis of their working speed and the impact on net production rate of the industry. Labor is cheap and is exploited in means of their rights. Karachi has established Industrial sector named as Baldia Town and there are many factories and industries working there but there is no check and balance from the Government Sector. Inspection and checking is scarce and considered a brutal blow to the ego of the Businessman. Building are not designed ergonomically and none of the safety designs are kept under consideration infact the only consideration is to gain maximum output by adjustment of machinery in a way that maximum efficiency is achieved. It is good from the economical perspective but the safety and health of worker must not be ignored.

Incident

This fire incident occurred in the garment factory named Ali Enterprises. The major product of industry was hosiery. Building was multistory and had several access doors but all of them were closed due to security reasons and only one main exit and entrance way was open. According to witnesses the fire started with a loud blast and screams of the people were heard. The workers rushed towards the doors but all of them were closed and locked and only one way was open. This created a chaos and many people died in panic trying to get out of the multistory building. The fire was uncontrollable and there wasn’t any equipment available to put out the fire. Since garments are inflammable, the fire spread with great speed throughout the factory and people weren’t ready for this. So, there was a huge loss of life. There were several factors that played the key role.

Responsible Factors/ Flaws

Fire safety practices were not adopted. Safety practices to avoid the such fire is pretty much important specially in the industries that have potentially inflammable material to deal with.

Labor was not trained to fight the fire or to save themselves in case of such emergency.

There wasn’t any equipment available on site to contain or resist the spread of fire.

Emergency Exit Routes were not constructed and were not the part of building design.

Available routes were not open and were locked which became the major reason for so many deaths because people couldn’t escape the building.

Emergency Response Manual or Emergency Preparedness Plan was not made. It is very important to devise such plans and to train the workers about this.

Panic is not a way to avoid havoc. Instead it creates chaos which increases the chances of injury and fatalities.

Fire causing agent such as petrol or other solvents used in textile industries must be kept with care and there should be SOPs for handling. But none was adopted.

According to some sources the fire ignited due to Generator explosion. Such machinery requires a lot of handling and care if diesel or petrol is kept near it, it becomes dangerous since the temperature of generator and its surrounding is usually high due to the exhaust and constant running of generator.

Safety instructor was not hired and there wasn’t any system developed for proper Health Safety and Environment.

In industries like garments the air contains threads and other pieces of cotton which make up combustible dust. There was not a single equipment to make air clean and combustion free. It is not only combustible but also cause many diseases of respiratory system in humans.

Industry wasn’t kept clean. The working areas like stitching area, cutting area etc. must be kept clean and pieces of clothes should be kept or stored away in separate place. These kinds of environments are very favorable for the spread of fire since they play their role as a fuel for fire.

In several industries there are people who volunteer and train themselves as Emergency Instructors. In case of emergency they lead the people and guide them how to end up safely. What to do or what not to do. There was not a single person trained in this manner.

Aftermath

After the incident the owner of the factory Abdul Aziz Bhaila and his two sons Shahid Bhailla and Arshad Bhailla were arrested and charged initially. Later on there were some accusations that the ruling political party was involved in setting industry on fire. This incident ignited the fire in government and a huge movement of awareness and training began. Government of Sindh amended rules and regulation related to the labor and were implemented on a large scale at once. But the families that lost their earners couldn’t be dispensed with their loved ones. Karachi Electric Supply Company declared to waive of electricity bills of the families of the victims. Many funds were allotted by several NGOs for the suffering families.

Propositions

All of this could’ve been avoided if proper Health Safety and Environmental Practices would’ve been adopted.

Legislation must be implemented strictly in industries.

Proper equipment should be kept and maintained regularly so that in case of emergency loss should be minimized.

Labor should be made aware of the risks they are dealing with and trainings must be conducted so that they may know how to tackle instead to panic.

There should be properly designed Emergency Exit Route which is not closed or obstructed. So that in the case of emergency people would know where to go and how to save their life.

Always supervise the work. There must be an appointed supervisor whose presence is mandatory for potentially risky procedures such as using flammable gases, liquids or chemicals etc.

Some people should be appointed who would counsel in the time of emergency and would act as a leader. They would make decisions and would know how to troubleshoot the problem.

Some alarm or emergency system must be installed so that in case of fire external help would reach in time. Moreover, now the automatic systems and sprinklers are available that would work automatically if they detect smoke or high temperature.

Security reasons should not come in way of the Health and Safety and must be managed separately and wisely.

Conclusion

Incidents can not be stopped from happening but they can be avoided or reduced. In Pakistan, there are several examples that are working efficiently as well as safely. Industrial Sector is huge in Pakistan due to cheap labor but the problem lies with the carelessness of labor as well. An uneducated laborer wouldn’t know how to handle the fire or how to control it but at least he can be trained for that purpose. If he is unable to put out the fire at least he should be able to save his life in the time of distress. Pakistan is on its way to become a developed country and industrialization is increasing day by day. But the Government is not making new policies and forces to meet the upcoming demands. Until now the Government has failed to implement the labor safety rules since the laborers are non-cooperative and doesn’t know rights. In order to implement these things awareness needs to made to the laborers. There are some other factors also that are included in poor administration and those include political pressure and favor etc. but one should know and respect human life.