Karachi fire safety survey, SBCA notices to over 100 buildings

KARACHI: The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched an emergency survey of buildings and served notices to over 100 buildings in Karachi after a massive fire at the city’s Gul Plaza shopping mall that left the city in shock, claiming several lives and leaving many untraced.

The building authority has issued notices to over 100 city buildings including shopping malls, stores, residential buildings and hospitals over insufficient and dysfunctional firefighting measures.

The notices served to the buildings demand arrangement of proper fire safety measures in premises within three days. “In case of non-compliance FIRs as well as other legal actions can be taken”.

“Precautionary measures are compulsory under the building and town planning regulations and laws,” the notice read. “Buildings should be equipped with complete firefighting and fire resistance system”.

“The safety equipment installation and proper maintenance has been compulsory,” according to the notice. “Proper maintenance of electric wiring, load management and their regular inspection has been mandatory,” according to the notice.

“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,” the notice says.

“Emergency lights and emergency signals should be installed at proper places. Trained firefighters should be taken in the team to tackle an emergency situation,” according to the notice.

The premises can be sealed, and an FIR can be registered over cancellation of the completion certificate, the notice warned.

The SBCA has said that the survey has been launched on the orders of the chief minister of Sindh. “The compliance period of the notice has been three days, ordered by the DG SBCA”.