Most of the multi-storey buildings in capital city lack emergency exits, built-in fire safety system and standard electricity wiring, thanks to the apathy and negligence of the Capital Development Authority. Most of the blaze incidents, such as Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat fire, Marriott Hotel inferno, Parliament House fire and recently reported Karachi Company blaze in which several people were killed, took place because of the CDA’s oversight. According to a survey conducted by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), a large number of multi-storey shopping plazas in the city have no emergency exits and there the quality of wiring is also said to be substandard. The owners of those plazas, who have spent millions of rupees on construction, were also least bothered about the building safety measures, said a CDA official while talking to Pakistan Today.
The official, seeking anonymity, said the plazas located in the Blue Area, Karachi Company and some buildings in different market centres were without any safety exit systems and that could lead to big catastrophes. “After facing strong criticism after Marriott bombing and the Karachi Company blaze, the CDA’s Disaster Management Authority (DMA) constituted fire safety laws to make the emergency exits mandatory,”, he said. He said that under the law, the CDA could only approve the design of only those multi-storey plazas and residential buildings that had proper emergency exits and anti-fire system in their construction plans. “The DMA is required to check all these safety measures before any new building becomes functional”, he added.
He said the CDA was planning to issue notices to the owners of all major buildings, give them six-month time to set up emergency exits, failing which they would have to pay heavy fines. The DMA has constituted different codes regarding emergency exits for commercial buildings, hospitals, institution, residential buildings and warehouses, he added.
Despite a mushroom growth of high-rises in the capital city, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is doing little to equip its fire brigade units to cope with fire emergencies. The absence of modern fire fighting equipment to douse down fire at high-rises could maximise damages in case of any big blaze. The situation is extremely worrisome for citizens since frequent fire incidents that expose the unpreparedness of the CDA’s fire response units. The authority had badly failed to put out the fires in incidents such as Marriott blaze Shaheed-i-Millat Secretariat fire. Even the CDA’s response to the Thursday’s Blue Area bank blaze was being dubbed as unsatisfactory, and all those incidents caused damages of millions of rupees, a CDA official admitted while talking to Pakistan Today. The official, whishing not to be named, said the civic body had purchased some fire fighting vehicles in 2006, which could operate only up to 68 meters’ height while some existing and under-construction buildings are 100 meters high. “And yet the CDA purchased that equipment for Rs 600 million without bothering about the actual needs”, he said. The official said that the construction of high-rises was continued at a large scale but the CDA department’s emergency response measures were lagging behind. “The authority allocates huge funds for other projects but nothing is being done to upgrade the fire brigade capacity. He said the CDA’s fire brigade lacked latest fire fighting equipment and professional staff.
