The majority of hotels in Dhaka, used for lodging by people visiting the capital from Bangladesh and abroad, are facing serious fire hazards.
An inspection report from the Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence revealed that 97.84% of Dhaka’s residential hotels are facing fire risks, as they do not have the necessary equipment for fire prevention or suppression.
According to the report, the fire service inspected 325 hotels in 2017, and sorted those under three categories: satisfactory, risky and highly risky. A total of 248 hotels were found risky, while 70 hotels were found highly risky.
Only seven hotels were found with satisfactory fire safety levels, six of which are located in Gulshan, and the remaining one in Banani.
It is not just small or no-star hotels. Even some renowned five-star and four-star hotels are on the list under the risky and highly risky categories.
Ascot Palace in Baridhara, Radisson Blu Water Garden in Dhaka Cantonment area, The Raintree Dhaka in Banani, Le Meridian on Airport Road, Dhaka Regency Hotel in Khilkhet, Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan, Nascent Gardenia in Baridhara, Sundarban Hotel in Karwan Bazar and Hotel Purbani in Motijheel are all on the list of risky hotels.
The fire service categorized La Vinci in Karwan Bazar and Givency Hotel in Farmgate as highly risky, along with many other one-star, two-star and no-star hotels.
Gulshan’s Six Seasons Hotel, The Westin Dhaka, Amari Dhaka, Four Points by Sheraton, Long Beach Suites Dhaka and The Way Dhaka, as well as Banani’s Hotel Sarina, were found to have sufficient fire safety equipment and building design quality to achieve the category of satisfactory.
The fire service considered many factors for compiling the report such as: type of building, basement and semi-basement ventilation system, water reservoirs, fire-fighting pumps, types of stairs, number and type of emergency exits, lifts and their capacity, fire lifts, ramps and safety lobby.
On July 3 last year, a fire incident took place at Seashell Residence in the Uttara area of Dhaka, killing two people. The fire had also spread to two more adjacent buildings. On February 12 this year, a devastating fire gutted Hotel Arpit Palace in New Delhi, and killed at least 17 people.
In both cases, fire service authorities in both countries said the hotels had poor fire safety equipment and prevention systems, leading to casualties and property damage.
Discussing the issue, a number of experts pointed out that if triggered, a massive fire would cause devastation in a densely populated city such as Dhaka.
Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Jahangirnagar University Akhter Mahmud said: “If any building is constructed following the requirements of the Bangladesh National Building code, the risk of fire will be significantly reduced.”
“Rajuk approves the land-use plan of hotels and other buildings, but many choose not to follow that plan during construction. After approving a building plan, Rajuk needs to inspect the whole construction process thoroughly. With proper effort and initiative, risky buildings can be turned into safe ones.”
Director (operation and maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil Defense Major AKM Shakil Newaj said: “We conduct inspections and let (owners) know in what state their building is. If found at risk of fire, we warn them and recommend measures to curb the risk, such as installing more fire safety equipment.”
“If our warning is not heeded, we take action against the building owners who failed to comply with the existing building code and regulations. This step is crucial for ensuring safety of the people,” he said.
