‘Fire safety enforcement is harder without full-time magistrates’

With the number of fire-prone establishments in the country tripling within a year, questions have emerged about how effectively safety standards are being enforced. In this interview, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General (DG) Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal talked to The Daily Star's Mohammad Jamil Khan and Dipan Nandy about enforcement challenges, the lack of magistracy powers, and the steps being taken to reduce fire risks.

The number of fire-prone establishments has tripled in a year to 7,987. What steps are taken once a site is identified as risky?

After identifying fire-prone establishments, we carry out regular inspections, provide necessary advice, issue notices, and, where required, conduct mobile court drives with the help of magistrates. However, to reduce the number of fire incidents and the extent of damage, everyone must become more aware and respectful of fire safety laws. Each establishment must maintain its fire prevention systems as per the rules, keep trained personnel and adequate equipment for initial firefighting, and practise fire drills regularly. Only then can we expect to see a real reduction in fire disasters.

Visible actions often seem limited with regard to risky buildings. What actions are taken against building owners who do not comply with the notices of the fire department?

Being primarily a service-oriented organisation, the Fire Service and Civil Defence's core mission is to build public awareness to prevent disasters. To that end, we regularly carry out drills, public awareness campaigns, building inspections, surveys, and training programmes. On our official Facebook page, we also publish safety tips, photos, and videos of awareness activities. However, when required, we also conduct mobile court drives with magistrates. There are other relevant agencies that also take legal action. The main goal is to promote awareness first, but persistent non-compliance does lead to penalties.

To share some of the work we do: from October 1, 2025, until the second week of December, we trained 61,063 people through 1,363 courses, conducted 2,293 fire drills, and held public outreach programmes in 2,119 places. Additionally, we inspected 203 buildings and surveyed another 1,338, providing fire safety advice. During this period, we tackled 1,421 fire incidents, saving property worth Tk 34.35 crore. We also responded to 901 other emergencies, rescuing 717 people alive and recovering 169 bodies.

How many non-compliant building owners faced legal or financial penalties this year? Can you mention specific examples of legal action?

From January to November 2025, we conducted 107 mobile court drives across the country. A total of 211 establishments faced penalties, and fines amounted to Tk 1.99 crore. Three individuals were jailed for different durations. Recently, after the Tongi chemical fire incident, we filed a criminal case against the factory owner.

Although we are mainly a humanitarian service agency, we are increasingly taking regulatory actions to ensure compliance with the support of district administrations.

Following some major fires recently, questions have been raised about fire service preparedness. Where do you face the main challenge: equipment, manpower, or access?

We have sufficient manpower and equipment according to our operational mandate. Our teams are always ready to respond. We also have modern equipment, including 68-metre turntable ladders. But in many areas, building code violations, overhead power lines, and poor infrastructure prevent their proper use. We also have remote-controlled firefighting vehicles, drones, search vision cameras, and thermal imaging systems. However, their numbers are limited, and we are working to expand our capacity.

Other factors that constrain our capacity to act are often external—narrow roads, water shortages, lack of hydrants, curious crowds, and the absence of firefighting systems in many buildings.

 Although traffic police cooperate with us during emergencies and our control room maintains wireless communication with theirs to clear roads for fire vehicles and personnel, the reality of existing urban congestion often makes emergency response very difficult. Effective coordination among all relevant agencies is essential to improve response time.

 As we are trying to enhance our capacity, we are also working on amending fire safety laws and regulations. If we had full-time magistrates, enforcement of law in these areas would have been more immediate and effective.

You mentioned the lack of functional fire hydrants. What practical steps have been taken to address this issue, and also to expand magistracy authority for better intervention?

At present, Dhaka's streets have no hydrants, but a memorandum of understanding has been signed with WASA to begin feasibility studies for a hydrant system. Meanwhile, in Chattogram, a few exist, but they were not installed in coordination with the Fire Service and are largely unusable.

 With regard to magistracy authority, we earlier sent a proposal requesting magistrates on deputation for the fire service department. Magistrates are currently nominated by the district administration to conduct mobile courts for us alongside their other duties. If we had full-time magistrates on deputation, enforcing the law against irregularities would be much more effective.

Public participation in fire prevention remains minimal. Are there any plans to make regular fire drills mandatory in schools, markets, or residential buildings?

Since October 1, 2025, we have trained over 61,000 individuals across schools, colleges, and industrial institutions. We have proposed including fire safety lessons in the national curriculum; basic safety tips have already been added at the primary level.

Fire drills are mandatory under existing laws, and many institutions already practise them. Consistent training ensures readiness during real emergencies. But without collective awareness and strict adherence to building codes and fire safety laws, reducing accidents will remain very difficult.