Another fire disaster

There are many lessons that the authorities can take from the devastating fire at DCC Market in Gulshan 1 that broke out in the early morning of January 3. While we are thankful that there was no loss of life, the two-storied building blazed away for more than 16 hours destroying some 200 shops begs that some hard questions be asked as to why this happened and why it took the fire service so long to bring it under control. 

The major damage to property could have been avoided if the market had a fire fighting system in place. Indeed, there was also no water pool from which fire trucks could replenish their tanks as the market blazed away through the night. We believe that had these measures been in place, the carnage could have been contained in time. It is high time that the two city corporations conducted a study on precisely how many such markets and shopping malls are in the city and whether they are adhering to fire safety standards. This can be done in conjunction with the fire service department, which has the expertise to better advise the city corporations on what provisions must be kept in such markets. 

We feel too that the hundreds of proprietors and their employees who have overnight lost everything in this incident need to be rehabilitated as soon as possible. We hope they are compensated timely in earnings and let this incident serve as a reminder that cutting corners when it comes to safety issues really does not pay in the long run.