KARACHI: Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori said that every owner of residential and workplace building has to fulfill civic responsibility of ensuring fire safety measures at premises where people live or work.

Addressing 12th Fire Security and Safety Convention-2022 organised jointly by National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) and Fire Protection Industry of Pakistan (FPIP). Governor praised NFEH and other concerned civil society organisations, which had been regularly holding programmes to raise mass awareness about fire safety issues in urban areas. “This fire safety convention has been organised for past 12 years to make people aware of issues related to fire safety. Such events definitely spread awareness but at same time fire incidents continue to take place unabated endangering lives and belongings of people showing that more has to be done to spread awareness for this vital cause,” he said.

He said that adoption of fire safety measures at every building by its owner had become all more important when state was unable to fulfill its obligations regarding protection of lives and properties of people. Tessori told audience that he had recently met concerned scrap dealers of Shershah market in Karachi who recently suffered massive losses due to a fire incident.

“I asked them whether they had put in place any fire safety measures at their shops and their response was negative meaning that they opted for saving few thousand rupees by not installing any fire protection equipment and as a result, they had to face losses of millions of rupees due to fire tragedy,” he added. Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said that such events has important role in making people aware of steps they should adopt at their homes and offices to prevent fire emergency. He said that all commercial and industrial establishments should have fire protection systems in place to minimise human and material losses due to fire incidents. He said Sindh government had adopted necessary legislation for compulsory adoption of fire safety measures. Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon said that people were generally not ready to install fire protection systems in their offices, markets and factories showing state of overall moral degeneration in society. He said city’s administration had been left with no option but to adopt punitive measures against markets, shops and industries that didn’t adopt fire safety measures despite several warnings. Mohsin Sheikhani  patron of Association of Builders and Developers Pakistan said representative unions of markets and multi-storied residential buildings in Karachi should include experts who could advise adoption of necessary fire protection measures. Hussain Moosani Vice-President of SITE Association of Industry said industries in Karachi has willingness to join hands with Sindh government to make sure that all industrial buildings do have fire protection systems.

FPIP President Imran Taj called for implementation of fire safety provisions contained in building code of Pakistan while constructing high-rise residential and commercial buildings in country. NFEH President Naeem Qureshi said that his non-governmental organisation in collaboration with relevant agencies would organise more such events to spread mass awareness about issue of fire safety.

Published in The Daily National Courier, November, 25 2022

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