Twenty per cent of the garments and other factories are at the risk of fire as these factories are housed in lack adequate fire-fighting system.
Md Akhtaruzzaman, deputy director of Gazipur fre service, gave the information while talking to UNB, the agency reports on Monday.
After a number of fire incidents, Gazipur fire service is identifying risky buildings and trying to take action against their owners but these moves are not enough.
A number of workers said that their workplaces do not have permanent fire extinguishing system.
There is not enough water pumps, gas masks, exit system and fire extinguishing equipment in many factories. Although some factories have fire extinguishers, they are expired and are kept only for the show.
Gazipur fire service hung banners in front of the several factories alerting people of vulnerability.
But the factory authorities did not take any initiative and instead removed the banners.
“Though we’ve alerted several factories, they paid no heed. Now, mobile court drives will be conducted soon,” Md Akhtaruzzaman said.
He said that taking fire safety clearance is mandatory after constructing a building. But most of the buildings do not have such clearance.
In some cases, the buildings have clearance certificates but lack fire-fighting equipment, leading to the loss of lives and properties, Akhtaruzzaman said.
“We must follow the rules and make the factories safe,” he added.
