Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has informed hotels, factories and other establishments to comply with precautionary safety measures, and promised strict legal action otherwise.
He said this while presiding over an emergency meeting to review the Regent Plaza Hotel fire incident in Karachi which led to a loss of 11 lives over 60 people being injured.
The fire broke out in the kitchen of the hotel at about 2:45am. A fire brigade team reached the hotel well in time and extinguished the fire, but a thick smoke resulting from the fire spread through the hotel after being sucked into the hotel’s central air conditioning system. As a result, some people died from suffocation, and others jumped from their rooms and could not survive.
The last inspection of the fire extinguishers in the hotel was carried out at the end of 2015, although they are supposed to be inspected every 3 months.
The chief minister expressed his serious displeasure and the ordered the home secretary to conduct a thorough inquiry as to why the civil defence department had failed to check the readiness of the fire extinguishers.
He ordered chief secretary Rizwan Memon to constitute a committee comprising assistant commissioners, fire officers of the KMC, electrical inspectors and other relevant officers and begin inspections of hotels, factories and other buildings to ensure that they have taken the necessary precautionary measures for emergencies.
The chief minister directed local government minister Jam Khan Shoro to immediately purchase snorkels (a type of hydraulically elevated platform for firefighting) and shooters (a slide for people stuck on higher building floors).
Jam Khan Shoro recommended the chief minister to conduct the ensuing building inspections through a third party so that an ISO certification stand for safety measures could be ensured.
The chief minister approved the proposal and directed the chief secretary to make necessary amendments in the law, if necessary.
It was also proposed that the hotels and factories must be bound to pay for the inspection of their safety measures, as is done by CNG stations.
The chief minister directed the chief secretary to examine the proposal and give his recommendation.
Expressing his displeasure on the performance of the civil defence department, he directed the chief secretary to authorise all assistant commissioners to head civil defence committees in their areas. “There should be an up-to-date training of the civil defence employees,” he urged.
The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Jam Khan Shoro, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, IG Sindh AD Khwaja, Home Secretary Shakeel Mangnijo, Commissioner Karachi Aijaz Khan, Secretary Health Dr Usman Chachar, Senior Director Municipal Services Masood Alam, and Karachi’s Chief Fire Officer.
