Photo: Collected
The Fire Service is continuing its work of identifying risky structures through regular inspections in order to reduce loss of life and damage in fires. In 2025, 10,533 buildings were inspected across the country and 3,938 were identified as ‘risky’, of which 622 buildings are ‘very risky’.
During inspections, various matters are checked, including the building’s emergency exits, the required number of usable staircases, firefighting equipment, water reservoir, sprinklers, fire doors, trained manpower and a dedicated fire officer.
After several mild and moderate earthquakes in recent times, the question of the structural safety and disaster resilience of the country’s buildings has come to the fore anew. Particularly in a densely populated city like Dhaka, it has become essential to ensure not only fire safety but also the structural durability of buildings, effective emergency exits and the capacity for rapid rescue operations.
After an earthquake, an acute risk of fire, gas explosion, electrical accidents and blocked passageways is usually created. As a result, building an integrated fire safety system is now extremely urgent to ensure the overall disaster resilience of buildings.
Fire Service sources say that building inspections mainly take fire safety matters into consideration. As the agency has no engineering wing, it is not possible for it to give an opinion or decision on the structural aspects of a building. Whether a structure is ‘satisfactory’, ‘risky’ or ‘very risky’ is determined on the basis of a specific checklist prepared in line with the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC).
The Fire Service uses several specific parameters to identify risky buildings. These include having the required number of usable staircases, the staircases extending up to the roof and being free of obstruction, and proper arrangements for getting out safely in an emergency. Blocking the passageway by keeping goods on the stairs is counted directly as a risk.
During inspection it is also checked whether the necessary firefighting equipment is there, whether it is functional and whether there is trained manpower to operate it. The lack of adequate hose pipes and fire pumps in multi-storey buildings and equipment becoming out of order for want of maintenance over a long period are also considered fire safety risks.
Matters of a building’s legal approval and licences are also strictly scrutinised. If a business is run without a fire licence, trade licence or the necessary approval, it is identified as extremely risky.
If additional floors are built in a building in violation of the Rajuk-approved design, it finds a place on the ‘very risky’ list. In such buildings, the fire safety arrangements of the additional floors, the accessibility of staircases and whether the necessary licences exist are examined in depth.
In determining the level of risk, the building’s lightning arrester, the overhead water tank on the roof and the capacity of the underground reservoir are also looked at. To tackle fire risk, a fire pump, an alternative diesel pump and a jockey pump are a must in the pump house; the absence of such a pump house in industrial establishments is also a major risk.
In addition, it is checked whether there is an automatic sprinkler system in multi-storey buildings, fire doors in industrial establishments and whether stairways are free of obstruction. Essentially, a building’s risk level is determined on the basis of the implementation of the necessary fire instructions in compliance with the BNBC and the functionality of equipment.
According to Fire Service statistics, of the 10,533 structures inspected in 2025, 6,595 were identified as satisfactory, 3,316 as risky and 622 as very risky. Among them, of 652 buildings of government institutions, 442 are satisfactory, 185 risky and 25 very risky.
Of 473 residential buildings, 261 are satisfactory, 190 risky and 22 very risky. Of 1,533 garment factories, 853 were identified as satisfactory, 592 as risky and 88 as very risky.
Of 720 factories other than garment factories, 434 are satisfactory, 251 risky and 35 very risky. Of 1,053 hospitals and clinics, 545 are satisfactory, 432 risky and 76 very risky.
Of 480 diagnostic centres, 328 are satisfactory, 133 risky and 19 very risky. Of 1,071 restaurants, 554 are satisfactory, 372 risky and 145 very risky. Of 1,171 shopping malls and markets, 723 are satisfactory, 345 risky and 103 very risky.
Of 784 educational institutions, 535 are satisfactory, 223 risky and 25 very risky. Of 91 chemical godowns, 11 are satisfactory, 42 risky and 38 very risky. Of 101 filling stations, 69 are satisfactory, 25 risky and 7 very risky. In addition, of 2,404 other structures, 1,840 were identified as satisfactory, 526 as risky and 39 as very risky.
Dr Md Zillur Rahman, professor at the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience of Dhaka University, said, ‘Many buildings are being constructed without properly following the approved design and rules and regulations. Changes are being made to buildings even after construction. Arrangements such as fire hydrants, fire extinguishers, fire detection sensors, fire doors and emergency exits are absent in many buildings.’
Fire Service Director General Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed Kamal told BSS, ‘If a fire breaks out in a building that is risky from the fire safety point of view, there is a fear of greater damage, and even loss of life may occur. So just as a building has to be kept safe in terms of infrastructure, it also has to be kept protected in terms of fire safety.’
He further said, ‘Even where fire safety equipment exists, in many cases it is not regularly maintained. So fire safety arrangements need to be monitored regularly.’
According to him, ‘It is possible to keep a building safe from fire risk if it is constructed following the BNBC and by adopting and implementing a fire safety plan. Everyone concerned needs to be careful about this in order to reduce the loss of life and property.’
