Kathmandu Valley has seen fast paced and haphazard urbanization in the last few years. But the pace of development of necessary infrastructures is far slower than the pace of urbanization. Fire infrastructure - for an instance - is one among those infrastructures that we have completely overlooked despite rapid urbanization. Unfortunately, fire infrastructure is still considered something secondary which does not affect our day to day lives. The building codes, specifically those related to fire safety, are loosely implemented by the concerned municipalities.
But some of the organized housing developers in the Valley have followed building codes on fire safety as prescribed by the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC). This includes provisions like fireplace with chimney, water tank, fire extinguishers, proper access for firemen, fire escape ways - main, side and rear-- for rapid evacuation and open spaces, among others. Although building codes are prioritized as necessary infrastructure by both housing developers and DUDBC, there is a lack of coordination with the fire brigades and the concerned municipalities that control them. "At present, fire brigades in the capital have the capacity to extinguish fire only up to the height of 30 meters," said Basudev Hengarju, chief fire commander of Kathmandu Fire Brigade (KFB). This translates into about 7 to 10 storied buildings. But there already are up to 65 meters tall apartment buildings in the capital. This risk is compounded by other shortcomings like insufficient and under-equipped fire engines, lack of nearby water sources and trained manpower, narrow roads and unmanaged electricity lines. Despite such shocking infrastructural deficits, concerned municipalities have been unable to make much leeway into upgrading its fire infrastructure to meet the city´s rising demands. Ganesh Rai, CEO of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), said they were working with the Rotary Club of Kathmandu Mid-Town to talk with an Italian fire brigade company that is showing interest to donate a fire engine. "We are also requesting the Ministry of Finance for necessary budget allocation to buy two fire engines - one small and one big," said Rai. He further said fire fighters would be sent abroad for necessary trainings in the near future. But he maintained that nothing has been planned as of yet. When the Home ministry handed over KFB to Kathmandu Metropolitan City in July 2009, the two government bodies had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that included plans to buy two fire engines, opening four to five branches in Kathmandu itself to reduce time wasted in reaching the emergency destination, hiring 29 fire fighters and focusing on institutional development among others. But nothing has been done to materialize this plan so far. Technicians at KFB complain that the condition of fire brigades has further deteriorated after their handover. "Back then the fire brigade could repair the engines in due time because they had some control on budget. Now, the situation has become so worse that a fire engine that broke down about two months ago hasn´t been repaired due to delay in releasing budget," a source at KFB said. The situation is even worse in Lalitpur which does not have even a single functional fire engine for the last three months. Fire fighters also complain of lack of proper working environment and said they are not paid on time and that no one is listening to their calls for taking appropriate steps for their safety. If the capital is to see housing development, it is imperative that both inhabitants and investment are secure. It is high time that concerned authorities like the Ministry of Local Development, metropolitan offices, DUDBC, housing developers and civil society came together actively to address this pertinent issue. "After the tragic earthquake, every civilian in Gujarat has been trained to prepare them in case of emergency," said Lila Raj Gachha Magar, chief of KFB. Do we need to suffer the tragedy like in Gujarat to be prepared for disasters?
Courtesy: ANG SANU LAMA, Republica