Photo: MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPUSome 97.5% of Dhaka’s hospitals are fire risks, with inadequate fire safety equipmentIt should not take a devastating incident like the fire at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College to make the authorities wake up and take heed of the woeful state of fire safety in our hospitals. Some 97.5% of Dhaka’s hospitals are fire risks, with inadequate fire safety equipment, and are thus classified as being at risk, with over 40% being in a highly vulnerable state. As we check off the boxes in our development goals for the country, sadly, our lives continue to be plagued by various dangers, of which the lack of fire safety is an important one. But this mindset needs to change -- because a true marker of how we have advanced as a nation is how much we pay attention to the wellbeing and safety of our citizens. For too long, safety has been secondary to all other concerns; it is high time that changed.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 19, 2019 18:00 UTC