High-rises flouting fire safety norms

Owners of the plazas and high-rise buildings in the capital city pay no heed to the Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s Building Standards for Fire Preventions and Life Safety (BSFPLS) 2010 as they have not yet established a fire safety and emergency exit system in their buildings.
“According to a survey conducted by CDA, 95 percent of the multi-story shopping plazas in the city have no fire safety and emergency exit systems. The owners of these plazas, who have spent millions of rupees on the construction of these plazas, are least bothered about the establishment of emergency exits,” said a senior CDA official. He said that the multi-story plazas located in the Blue Area, Karachi Company and other areas of the city were exposed to fire risk. The CDA’s directorate issued notice to the building owners, informing them about the risks involved but they paid no heed to it, he said.
The official said that the government also published BSFPLS in the official Gazette of Pakistan. “Under the regulations, the directorate concerned has been empowered to conduct a survey of both public and private buildings and ensure precautionary measures. After completion of the inspection of a building or premises, CDA will issue notice to the owner, directing him to undertake such measures as specified in the notice,” he said.
He said that all existing buildings constructed before the promulgation of the regulations were now under legal obligations to take measures and install all required equipments within six months. If the building owners failed to comply with these regulations, the CDA would either vacate or seal these buildings or impose fine up to Rs 500,000, he said.
The official said that in case of the construction of new buildings, clearance was required from the directorate of emergency and disaster management both at the time of approval of building plan as well as issuance of completion certificate by the authority. The building standards have been divided into three clauses: fire prevention, life safety and fire protection, he said.
He said that the fire prevention covers the aspects pertaining to design and construction of buildings on passive fire protection measures, describing various types of building material and their fire safety rating. The life safety provision deals with events of fire and similar emergencies, addressing construction and occupancy features that are necessary to minimize danger to life from fire, smoke, fumes or panic, he said.
The official said that the protection aspect relates to appurtenance, their related components and guidelines for selecting correct types of equipment and installations meant for fire protection of buildings depending on their classifications and types.
CDA Spokesman Ramzan Sajjid said that the CDA had asked the building owners to equip their buildings with fire safety systems until July 26. If the building owners failed to install the fire safety systems, the CDA would either vacate or seal these buildings or impose fines up to Rs 500,000, he said. He said that CDA is the first municipality in the country which has specified fire safety regulations.