As many as 2,138 people have been killed in fires across the country in 2019, twice than that in the last 10 years.
Moreover, nearly 15,000 people were injured and assets worth over Tk 2 billion were gutted in the 22,283 fire incidents reported this year.
According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department the number of deaths from fires between 2009 and 2018 were 1,490. Nearly 7,000 people were injured in the 150,000 incidents reported in these 10 years.
According to experts, public awareness has not increased despite the rising number of incidents. They said that those responsible are not being able to monitor the fire safety systems accordingly which has given rise to the accidents and casualties.
Nearly 90 percent of the high-rise buildings, factories and commercial buildings lack fire safety. Since most buildings are old, it’s difficult to integrate modern fire safety systems there.
Fire service statistics of fire incidents from 2009-2019:

Fire service statistics of fire incidents for 2019:

Fire Service and Civil Defence Department Director General Md Sajjad Hossain said that maximum number of injuries was reported in the fires in Old Dhaka’s Churihatta, Banani’s FR Tower, Keraniganj plastic factory and Gazipur fan factory.
“General people are being given training to increase awareness about fires,” he said.
Some of the biggest fires in the country with huge casualties were reported in 2019.
Chawkbazar fire:
On Feb 20, an explosion ripped through the streets of Churihatta in Old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar followed by blazes killing over 70 people.
The fast-moving fire swept through several building in the narrow alley gutting shops and leaving the nation in shock.
As many as 200 fire fighters battled for 15 hours to tame the flames that were highly difficult to control because of flammable chemicals that were stored in several buildings.
Although the government took initiatives to evict chemical warehouses from the congested area, the steps are yet to be implemented.
Banani FR Tower:
On Mar 28, a fire in the 23-storied FR Tower in Banani more than 25 people dead and injured scores. Lack of fire safety and exits caused people to jump off the high rise building.
The incident led a crackdown on high rise buildings built in violation of building plans and without fire exits. However, no visible steps have been taken to make the buildings safe.
Keraniganj plastic factory and Gazipur fan factory fires:
The fire at a plastic factory in Keraniganj’s Chunkutia on Dec 11 left 21 workers dead and left over 30 injured.
At least 150 workers were employed at the plastic cups and plate manufacturing factory without any fire safety. The owner Nazrul Islam is still on the run.
Meanwhile, the fire in a fan factory in Gazipur a few days later left 10 workers dead on the spot and injured 15.
Former Fire Service and Civil Defence Department chief Ali Ahmed says its everyone’s collective responsibility to ensure fire safety.
“There should be minimum fire safety in any building. But people in this country are lax regarding the matter,” he said.
He added that unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation has put the people in the country at risk of more fires.
Saying that the fire safety in the garments sector was a little better, he added, the situation was dire in factories, residences and commercial buildings and Fire Service and government organisation need to increase monitoring there.