When 16 workers perished in a chemical factory fire in Mehran Town, Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab ordered inspections of all commercial and industrial buildings. Many buildings were found breaking the rules. Notices were issued. One of them went to Chase department store. It ignored the warning. One year later, it caught fire itself. It took three days to extinguish the blaze.

Survey teams had been dispatched from all 22 fire stations to check buildings and tell the owners if they were lacking in safety. If a warning was issued, the building had a month to fix its fire safety.

“We sent a notice to Chase but didn’t get any response,” said Naeem Akhtar, the Station Officer of the Civic Center fire station, under whose jurisdiction the department store fell. The fire station then told the Chief Fire Officer but that is where the story ended.

Teams from the Fire Brigade, Civil Defense, Karachi Development Authority, Sindh Building Control Authority and Assistant Commissioners did the inspections. Each building’s fire security equipment (fire extinguishers, fire boxes, water reservoirs and emergency exits) were checked.

According to the fire brigade’s survey team most buildings did not follow orders. Very few agree to make sure fire safety measures are in place. For instance, in Saddar (which comes under the jurisdiction of Central Fire Station) only one percent of the hundreds of markets and shops agreed to follow precautions.

Part of the problem is that the government can survey and inspect but no punitive action is taken. Survey reports just go to Assistant Commissioners. “People are now taking fire safety measures seriously but implementation is still at a very slow pace,” said Abdul Ahad, Station Officer of Karachi’s Central Fire Station.