11月24日, 2022, marks a decade since the occurrence of the deadliest factory fire in Bangladesh’s history. The blaze happened at Tazreen Fashion, 达卡的一家服装厂, claiming the lives of 112 workers while injuring 200 more. Likely started as the result of an electrical short, the fire rapidly spread up the nine floors where garment workers were trapped due to narrow or blocked fire escapes. Many died in the building or while seeking escape. There is no debating that several safety protocols had not been set properly in place, which thereby increased the fire’s impact.
Fire officials say the blaze started on the ground floor of the nine-story factory where large quantities of fabric 和 yarn were illegally stored in a room without fireproof walls. The flammable materials caught fire 和 spread quickly to the other floors. Smoke filled the building’s three staircases which all led to the ground floor, rendering them unusable 和 trapping workers on the higher floors. Some workers managed to make it to the roof for rescue. Others jumped to their deaths in a last-ditch effort to escape the flames.
Further investigation revealed a host of building code violations, 比如堵塞的楼梯, a lack of a sprinkler system 和 fire escapes 和 the absence of a required, closed-circuit television monitoring system. Negligence on the part of the managerial staff was cited as well, as survivors later reported having been told by their superiors not to leave their workstations 和 that the sounding fire alarm was simply malfunctioning. 另外, it was discovered that none of the fire extinguishers appeared to have been utilized during the blaze 和 that the building’s fire safety certificate had expired six months prior in June 2012.
The Tazreen factory’s devastating fire undeniably exposed the overall atmosphere of unsafe work conditions in garment factories across the nation 和 helped prompt the creation of initiatives to improve safety protocols. 2013年11月, 三个安全监管组, the Accord on Fire 和 Building Safety in Bangladesh, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety 和 the National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety 和 Structural Integrity, agreed to look into adopting a new unified set of workplace safety st和ards. They called for increased fire inspections, 培训工厂检查员, transparency 和 public documentation of inspection results as well as regulation of spacing of exits to ensure evacuation from multiple sides.
Tragedies like the fire at Tazreen Fashion are preventable. Through adoption of fire protection st和ards 和 regular fire safety inspections, 测试, 和维护, building occupants can be protected from potential fire hazards. As members of national 和 global regulatory organizations, Jensen Hughes experts participate in the development of fire safety codes 和 stay up-to-date on codes 和 st和ards interpretation. Learn more about our fire 和 life safety 代码咨询 和 inspection, 测试, 和维护 服务.