An Investigation On Fire Safety of Airconditioned Shopping Centers at Dhaka City PDF
An Investigation On Fire Safety of Airconditioned Shopping Centers at Dhaka City PDF
ABSTRACT
Shopping is an important and essential routine of urban life. Day by day
the need for organized shopping centre is gaining importance in our
society. The current trend in Dhaka is to accommodate various functions
such as office, hotels, apartments etc. along with the shopping facilities
within the same structure. These have increased the potential danger of fire
hazard in these mixed uses, multi-storied and usually introvert building
type. At present a lot of high-rise Shopping Centers have sprung up all
over the city. Among them a big numbers of high-rise Shopping Centers
have a doubtful facility to fight with fire. The present study intends to
examine the deplorable conditions regarding fire safety and high risk
environment that exists in the high-rise shopping centers of Dhaka city.
This study is based on the literature review focusing on basic concept
about fire. Some shopping centers have been taken as a sample for survey
to enquiry whether they meet the requirements and regulations for fire
safety or not and what extent they are risky in question of fire.
1 INTRODUCTION
T
he word „shopping centre‟ can be extended as the place where shops are placed
combined and where people can buy things. But in respect of culture, climate, socio-
economic condition of different nations and countries the shopping centre may be
called as Mall, Market, Bazaar [Bengali name of open market] etc. In our society, the
comparative advantages of location, administrative, economic and other functional factors
have contributed towards a substantial increase in shopping activities. As a result, in
recent years shopping centers and ribbon like retail developments in Dhaka city have
boomed often in the most unplanned and indiscreet manner along most of the roads of the
city. Thus, they are one of the key physical structures which contribute to give shape the
Dhaka city as an uncontrolled urbanization, as they are growing haphazardly with no
respect to urban theory, viability, climate and finally without legislation albeit meager.
Bashundhara City Shopping Mall [Fig 01] is one of the largest shopping mall complexes in
Asia. Fire[13th of March 2009 ] totally burned down the top five floors of the 21-storey
office tower, which housed the corporate office of Bashundhara Group, one the biggest
conglomerates of the country [Shaif A., 2009]. The ten-storied shopping complex was not
touched by fire. Fire in the Bashundhara City shopping mall was not the first one in a
high-rise building of our country. In February 2007, a massive fire burnt down all the
offices in the 11-storey BSEC building, including the offices of private TV stations NTV
and RTV. A lot of questions were asked at that time, but somehow they were forgotten
over time. It can be doubted whether lessons were learned from that accident, as we saw a
repeat of that at Bashundhara City [Shaif A., 2009].
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 CAUSES OF FIRE IN SHOPPING CENTERS
Most fires in multi-storey shopping centers are caused by the increased use of electrical
and mechanical equipment which cause:
Ignition of combustible materials by heating equipment.
Ignition of flammable liquids and gases from leaking pipes and ducts by electrical
energy etc.
Defective or improperly installed and operated electrical and heating equipment and
services.
Wiring faults, friction and static sparks.
The most common causes of fire in public buildings like shopping centers are-
Smoking materials and matches.
Defective and improperly operated heating equipment.
Careless disposal of ash and waste products.
Repairs and alteration hazards.
Exposure from other buildings from fire.
Increased use of combustible materials for decoration in modern shops.
Fire develops easily in enclosed air-conditioned area, etc.
Besides these Narrow staircases, lack of regular fire drills and security measures, improper
storage facilities, lack of sign and symbol, improper security systems, etc. are some of the
important causes of the recurring tragedy for panic and injury.
2.3.3 Fire control: The measures for fire control have to be provided at the design phase
and during the time of building construction. The various measures are:
o Compartmentalization: It is a way of keeping a fire relatively small by dividing up a
building into fire-tight cells or units by means of fire resisting walls and floors. It is,
therefore, necessary for the multistory building so that the threat develops more
slowly. It is essential that the compartment shall survive a burn out of its combustible
contents without the collapse of the fire resisting separating elements
o Refugees: In multistory buildings it would be difficult to provide a place of safety at
the ground level. Moreover, it is impractical to evacuate completely the buildings like
shopping centers that house thousands of people of the time required, and in such
cases it is better to provide a place of safety within the building. Such “refuges” are
constructed so that they are free from smoke and fire.
o Fire alarm and Detection: In case of fire, the most primary necessity is to detect fire
and to raise the fire alarm. To reduce the loss of life and property it is obviously
important to detect the location of fire as early as possible, therefore the alarm should
be raised manually or automatically, to warn both the people and the fire fighters.
o Smoke vents and screens: Experts has pointed that, now a day‟s rather than flame is
the primary threat to life in case of a fire incident. Because smoke creates the panic [
and animal like stampeding that widely excited people crush each other to death]
situation among the fire effected people by obstructing visibility. Most of people by
fire in buildings have fears not to find an exit because of smoke, and have letter been
poisoned by carbon-monoxide gas or suffocated by oxygen deficiency. Therefore, if
the escape routes remain completely clear from smoke then the people would not be
panicked.
o Other fire extinguishers: Fire extinguishers should be chosen depending on the
severity of the fire. The common extinguishers can be both portable and fixed.
Portable fire extinguishers can be divided into five groups[Extinguisher service- GWF
Services] namely:
water extinguisher
carbon dioxide extinguisher
vaporizing liquid extinguisher
dry powder extinguisher
foam extinguisher
3 CASE STUDY
Fig 02: disposal of waste products [Eastern Plaza] Fig03: Used by the occupants [Twin Tower]
3.1.2 Lift and stair and Fire Escape: All the shopping centers are providing escalator and
elevator for beauty but these are not working in hazardous situation. They do not have
notices or signs placed near the entrance, advising passengers on the use of Escalator and
Elevator to avoid accidents in case of any danger. Escape route and position of stair and
lift are analyzed below [Table 02]
Navana Tower
Plan Findings
One stair [01] remains closed all the time and another
one [02] act as fire exit but the door remained locked
at ground level.
Lift lobby is not separated from main lobby and also
enclosed by shops and their display [Fig 07].
Findings
Lift lobby is not separated from
main lobby and the stair 01 is not
compartmentalized.
Stair 02 [Fig 08] reaches at ground
floor but it is at the end point of the
building.
Staircases are not easily visible for
quick escape in case of emergencies
The shopping centre is too deep for
external fire fighting.
Fig:08: Open stair will be a carrier of fire and smoke
Bashundhara City
Plan Findings
At Bashundhara City all stairs lead to basement
parking and act as fire exit and these remained
under lock and key almost all the time, which
will causes hazard during the fire [Fig 09]. In all
cases adjacent lift lobby is not
compartmentalized.
3.1.3 Drop Ceiling: Combustible gypsum boards used as a suspended ceiling material in
each shopping mall which increase the risk of fire [Fig 11].
3.1.5. Fire Fighting Equipment: Almost all shopping centers are well equipped with a good
number of Fire extinguisher and hydrants systems [Table 03, 04]. Fire extinguishers kept in
front of elevator, escalator, stair, toilet, and other public gathering space. Smoke detector and
fire alarm provided almost 60% shopping centre most of them are ceiling mounted .Sand
bucket present only few of the shopping center. We observed the use of fire fighting system of
Bashundhara City is best but in case of fire we find that almost all are inactive, which raised a
questioned that what is the situation of maintenance of all other cases.
4 OVERALL FINDINGS
From the overall analysis, it is very clear that Risk of fire and fire fighting system is not
properly addressed in our country.So that means of escape is not properly work in almost all
cases.Besides this, fire fighting equipments found more or less in almost all building.But they
are not maintained properly. Bashundhara City shopping Mall, which is in the best position of
almost all shopping center of Dhaka City regarding resign and presence ofenough fire fighting
equipment is observed in this building. Fire-fighters took more than six hours to bring the fire
under control, even though the building was said to be equipped with the most modern fire-
fighting equipment. However, Fire in this tower raised a lot of questions about the
maintenance of the building.Besides these, a lack of proper monitoring of safety precautions in
high-rise structures, as well as the fire-fighting capabilities of the Fire Brigade in our country is
also observed in this case. Lack of proper equipment and lack of exposure to latest training
methods of the Brigade are now being discussed at many quarters.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Today the shopping centers in Dhaka city are facing the dire need for appropriate fire
safety measures, fulfillment of which may not be completely achieved at a time but
gradual application of solutions may be possible.In light of the tremendous progress and
advancement made in the UK and other developed countries with respect to fire
prevention and control in a shopping centre, the formulation of a design criteria for
Bangladesh may included the following aspects:
Escape Route:
Generally the larger a building will be the more number of accesses should be
provided all around it, to ensure immediate escape and enable fire services to fight
fire within a dense surrounding.
The routes should be sufficiently protected from fire and Check that escape routes are
not blocked by storing combustible materials.
Check that escape routes are clearly indicated by exit signs.
All escapes should have sufficient artificial and emergency lighting.
Stair and Lift Lobby: With regard to fire safety design of staircases following measures
should be consider:
Stair should have a direct link with ground level and should not leads to basement.
Basement should have at least two stairs, unless they are very small.
Although artificial lighting is a necessity in shopping centers, daylight should be
ensured at least staircases.
Spiral stairs in shopping centers, where large mixed gathering are expected, should be avoided.
The staircase and the lift core, while considered as means of escape, should be
compartmentalized with fire resisting materials. and should be at clearly visible location.
For multi-storey premises, staircases should not be more than 61 m apart and the
route to an alternative protected staircase and exit must not pass through the
enclosure of another.
Stair should follow the standard (tread + riser = 17 in minimum).
Landings should follow the standard (1.5 x stair width) practice.
External staircases should not be suggested for escape, as they would become
hazardous, in the rainy season.
Fire Fighting Equipment:
It is essential that fire detection and fire warning systems should be properly
designed, installed, and maintained.
Routine checks of firefighting equipment should be carried out.
The fire-warning signal should be distinct from other signals, which may be
accompanied by clear verbal instructions. It must be familiar with the shopkeeper.
All the shopkeepers and security guards should be involved in regular fire drills at
least once a year, and they should be trained in the use of fire fighting appliances.
Other Consideration
At the planning stage, sufficient foresight is needed regarding site selection.
Within the shopping centers loading and unloading docks should be designed so as to
facilitate smooth running of the different operations
Setback rules should be implemented and to implement it, effective legislation and
means to enforce them should be developed.
Regular supply of water is must, in public buildings, to facilitate early fire fighting activities.
5 CONCLUSION
Now it is very urgent to make our people aware about fire hazard. To meet the current
challenge, it is high time that government officials and all the concerned authorities take
appropriate measures to ensure adequate safety for people at high-rise shopping center.
There is a need to develop consciousness among owners, architects, engineers and users
that, there is genuine because for concern about the prevailing situation in legislation
regarding fire prevention. Rules should be enacted to enforce design and administrative
actions for fire prevention, precaution and control in different building types, including
shopping centers. Our Building Codes should address the fire hazard in a more specified
form and it is necessary to integrate code requirements with other design strategies to
achieve a balanced design that will provide the desired levels of safety.
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