KARACHI: Following a catastrophic fire at the city’s Gul Plaza shopping mall that shocked the population, killed numerous people, and left more unaccounted for, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has started an emergency assessment of buildings and sent notifications to more than 100 buildings in Karachi. Over 100 city structures, including retail centers, shops, homes, and hospitals, have received notifications from the building authorities regarding inadequate and ineffective firefighting procedures. The notices that were delivered to the buildings required that appropriate fire safety measures be set up on the property within three days. “FIRs and other legal actions may be taken in the event of non-compliance.”
The notification stated, “The building and town planning regulations and laws require precautionary measures.” “Complete firefighting and fire resistance systems should be installed in buildings.” The warning states that “the installation and proper maintenance of safety equipment has been mandatory.” The warning states that “proper maintenance of electric wiring, load management, and their regular inspection has been mandatory.” The warning states that “firefighting equipment should be installed at an appropriate place and dangerous inflammable material should be removed from pathways, corridors, and emergency paths, which should be ensured to remain clean, accessible, and operational.” “Emergency signals and lights should be provided in the appropriate locations. The notice states that “trained firefighters should be taken in the team to tackle an emergency situation.”
The notice cautioned that a FIR may be filed over the cancellation of the completion certificate and that the premises could be shut. According to the SBCA, the survey was started at the chief minister of Sindh’s request. “The DG SBCA ordered a three-day compliance period for the notice.”
