A firefighter's account: How to fight a flame

Although it took the fire service some six hours to bring the devastating Bangabazar fire under control, a whopping 75 hours was needed to completely douse it but not before over 5,000 shops along with crores of taka worth of readymade clothes, saris, and footwear, among other items, were turned to ashes just before Eid.

All this begged a few questions, one being – Why did it take the fire service this long to douse the fire? And, what are the most common and recurring hurdles making an already challenging job more difficult?

The Business Standard recently spoke with Shahidul Islam Sumon, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence's Siddiquebazar unit.

According to him, unruly crowds and onlookers are one of the biggest hurdles they now face when responding to a fire crisis.

"Unruly crowds of onlookers are the biggest hindrance to our firefighting efforts. They make it difficult for us to do our job efficiently," he said, adding, "Sometimes it takes a while for us to load and set up equipment after reaching a spot, but people become impatient and attack us." 

Shedding light on last week's fire in Bangabazar, Shahidul brought up water shortage being another issue that they face when putting out a blaze. "We can bring a limited amount of water in our vehicles which can be used for 15 to 30 minutes. After that, we have to get water from nearby buildings or water reservoirs."

Unruly crowds

It is often seen that the general people bring water in buckets and pots to take part in extinguishing a fire but their efforts, in most cases, do not bear fruit, said Shahidul. 

"People may want to show initiative but often it's not helpful and doesn't have an impact.

"They bring water in buckets and pots. How much water can these hold? Around 30 litres maximum. Whereas, from only one of our hose pipes, we can spray 350 to 500 litres of water every minute. Besides, the bigger ones can disperse around 2,600 litres of water a minute," he explained. 

However, there are still a few ways onlookers can assist firefighters, the station officer said, adding, "The best way these people can help the fire service is by giving us enough open space to conduct our work and not obstruct us. Also, they can help us park our vehicles in a proper spot. These things would be more helpful than giving us a few buckets of water or helping us hold our hose pipes."

He said, "Also, bystanders and onlookers can help the fire service by informing them about nearby water sources that can be used, when needed, to douse a fire. The locals should know if there is any water source or reservoir nearby. 

"When we go to a spot, they could tell us or show us from where we can collect more water. And, most importantly, they should call us as soon as possible after seeing a fire so that we can respond right away." 

Current capacity of the fire service

The senior firefighter said the country's fire service has come a long way since independence, especially in recent years, and the level of competence of the firefighters is improving constantly. 

"In the last 10-12 years, the number of our fire stations, trucks, equipment and manpower has nearly doubled. New things are being added every day," said Shahidul.  

"Before, we could not operate on buildings over 7-8 stories but now we can reach heights up to 24 stories. We now have ladders of such capacity." 

When asked about the main causes behind fire incidents, Shahidul claimed that most fires become massive because residential and commercial establishments are being constructed, disobeying the National Building Code.

"People who are constructing buildings and infrastructures must follow the National Building Code. They should keep enough space in front of the buildings and ensure water reserves for firefighting.

"No matter how much manpower and equipment the fire service has, if we cannot get access to enough water, it will take longer and become difficult to douse a fire," the station officer added.