Survey finds zero fire safety in all 13 plastic factories

All 13 plastic goods manufacturers in a recent survey were found to have zero fire safety protocols in place, sparking concerns about industry-wide lapses.

At a workshop on Wednesday, SM Saiful Islam, a fire safety professional, expressed concern about the lack of fire safety measures in small and medium plastic goods manufacturing facilities. He emphasised the importance of ensuring compliance with regulations and recommended nationwide inspections to identify and address potential risks.

"The Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Export Association (BPGMEA) has over 2,200 member factories, the majority of them are small and medium in size. We have surveyed only 13 factories so far. None of them was found having any fire safety plan. Now it's necessary to survey all factories," said SM Saiful Islam, Premiaflex Plastics Ltd assistant manager (Fire and safety).

The 13 factories are located in Dhaka's Old Town, Keraniganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Savar, Tongi, Gazipur and Mymensingh, he said.

Saiful Islam urges BPGMEA to prioritise factory safety through comprehensive risk assessments, ongoing monitoring, a dedicated safety team, expert guidance, regular inspections, and a sustainable five-year action plan.

The workshop was held at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) in the capital.

The Plastic Products Business Promotion Council and the BPGMEA jointly organised the validation workshop to shed findings on the research titled "Factory Audit on Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Control."

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh remarked, "We need to view the expenditure on safety in the establishments of our factory owners as an investment. Because without compliance, there is no way to export products. If you do not comply with the laws in the country, you cannot sell your products. It is essential to adhere to compliance for product exports. People may get lower prices, but compliance must be maintained in product delivery."

BPGMEA President Shamim Ahmed underscored the need for self-awareness among manufacturers, saying, "If we want to export our products, compliance is necessary, and along with that, we must adhere to compliance for sustainable business."

Highlighting the fire incidents at Churihatta and Nimtoli in Old Dhaka of the capital, the BPGMEA president added, "We need to learn from these incidents. Setting up fire safety measures should be a precondition for running factories."

BPGMEA Senior Vice President KM Iqbal Hossain said, "We needed this study to increase awareness. We all know about occupational safety, occupational health and industrial hygiene. Maintaining these three factors is very important for every industrial unit."

Business Promotion Council Coordinator Md Abdur Rahim Khan hoped that factory owners will become more aware of accident prevention in the future.