Bailey Road: Restaurants continue operating without fire safety measures

ZOOMBANGLA DESK : Bailey Road in the heart of the capital is known as an upscale area with dozens of restaurants and fashion shops located there. Numerous food shops and small restaurants have been established in the buildings on both sides of the main road, which stretches about half a kilometre.

Considering the high demand, hundreds of unplanned restaurants have been built in these residential or commercial buildings without regard to rules and regulations. But these restaurants do not have adequate fire-fighting systems or infrastructure.

As a result, there is a danger of various risks, including fire accidents. An example of this is the terrible fire incident in the Green Cozy Cottage building, which left 46 people dead on February 29 this year. Of them, 20 were men, 18 were women, and eight were children.

In addition to the three showrooms of Samsung, Gadget & Gear and Illiyeen, this seven-storey building hosted about 12 restaurants, namely Chaye Chumuk, Shake Holic, Waffle Bay, Kacchi Bhai, Khana’s, Pizza Hut, Street Oven, Zesty Restaurant, Focus and Hakka Dhaka. In addition, the building’s roof housed another restaurant, Ambrosia.

After the terrible fire, officials of various government agencies, including the Fire Service, started to visit various restaurants in Dhaka. Raids were conducted in different areas of the capital, including Bailey Road. Although some restaurants were temporarily closed, all the restaurants in the capital returned to their previous form within a month.

Customers say that although some restaurants have a nominal fire safety system, most of them are not paying attention to the rules of the fire service. Officials of the city corporation, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), and related organizations also visited various restaurants and shops.

A tour of the Bailey Road restaurants on the ground floors of several buildings shows that after the fire at Green Cozy Cottage, the restaurants have installed inadequate fire-fighting equipment. There is no system other than fire extinguishers or fire extinguisher cylinders in most of the restaurants. According to the fire service, only the extinguisher cylinder is not enough to extinguish a fire. The restaurants that have more traffic—where there are gas cylinders—are most risk prone. Each restaurant should have multiple pieces of fire-fighting equipment along with a ventilation system. There should be adequate water supply, a fire alarm and an automatic water drainage system. Besides, there should be multiple stairs with an emergency exit.

Most restaurants still do not have emergency exits. There is no adequate fire safety system. Extinguisher cylinders are available, but staff do not know how to use them. But the fire service says that 25% of the employees of any organization should know the use of firefighting equipment.

Fakhruddin Biryani and Kebab, Bhooter Adda, Nawabi Bhoj 1, Nawabi Bhoj 2, Capital, Pithaghar and Jaggery Restaurant, Chin Chin Chinese, Tawa Restaurant and Dhakaiya Kebab and Soup do not have adequate fire-safety measures. Neither are there any emergency exit stairs.

Sultan’s Dine is located on the second and third floors of a four-storey building (opposite Siddheshwari Girls School) on Bailey Road. There is a narrow lane and a 2.5-3 feet wide staircase to reach this restaurant. There was no fire safety equipment in sight except for a few cylinders of fire extinguishers. Sultan’s Dine’s Manager Manik Hossain said: “We are only selling cooked food here. Our cooking is done in Dhanmondi. Besides, various fire safety measures are being taken. Work is also going on to construct a staircase from outside.”

A five-storey building on the road has a restaurant called Chillox on the second and third floors. There is a narrow alley on the back of the building. This is the only entrance to the restaurant. There are a few fire extinguishers at Chillox. Apart from this, there are no fire alarms, water systems, or emergency exits. Restaurant staff also do not know how to use extinguishers. Nevertheless, Shahadat Hossain, the manager of Chillox, said: “All measures are being taken for fire safety. We are working to implement the instructions given by the fire service.”

Another five-storey building called Baitul Abedin Shopping Centre has four restaurants and three bakery shops on the fourth floor. As there is only one staircase in this building, a new steel-staircase has been installed from outside. However, people concerned think that the staircase is of no use. Meanwhile, customers of two restaurants named Cafe Gelateria and Satiate can use the outside stairs directly. Customers from Burger Express and Oasis restaurants are not permitted to use the outside stairs. Cafe Gelateria, Satiate, Burger Express, and Oasis—these four restaurants have nothing but fire extinguishers and some fire balls as fire safety equipment.

Oasis Cafe and Restaurant Manager Russell spoke to this correspondent. He said: “Why are you so active after an accident? I haven’t seen you in the last seven years. Now we are tired of talking about these things.”

Burger Express’ Manager Milon said: “After the fire at Green Cozy Cottage, a staircase was made from outside our building. In case of an accident, you can get out quickly through these stairs.”

When asked why the gate of the stairs was made inside the Burger Express kitchen, Milon said: “The building owner knows about it. We cannot say anything in this regard.”

Next to the Green Cozy Cottage, the 13-storey Gold Palace building has up to four floors of various restaurants. The upper floors are residential apartments. On the second floor of the building, there are two separate staircases for KFC and Pizza Hut. There is also a staircase at the rear for emergency exits. The fourth floor of this building has an elevator to go to Café Thirty-Three, Secret Recipe and Dosa Express. But there are two stairs for an emergency exit. There are wall mounted emergency exit directions, fire alarms and extinguisher cylinders. Compared to other buildings in Bailey Road area, the fire safety-security system of this building is slightly better.

Architect Mustafa Khalid Palash said: “The design of a restaurant and an office building cannot be the same. A building is designed based on its use. When a building is built for offices and rented out for restaurants, common people don’t understand much about what can happen in case of danger. They go there after seeing a famous and expensive restaurant.”

The architect emphasized ensuring proper fire safety when renting space or space for restaurant business in multi-storey buildings, as the restaurant uses stoves and cylinders.

Director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Department (Operation and Maintenance) Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury said: “In order to strengthen fire safety, we visit various institutions and give advice and notices. Our prescription especially includes what the fire safety measures will be and what kind of equipment needs to be used. Apart from this, training is arranged for the employees of every organization to deal with fire and any accidents.”

He said that there are 433,000 restaurants in the country, including in Dhaka. Of these, only 200 restaurants have fire service licenses. All restaurants on Bailey Road have been given letters to strengthen fire safety measures. This fire service official believes that all the relevant supervisory agencies, including the fire service, are responsible for the Bailey Road fire incident.

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