Contrasts/Similarities
"Managers told us, 'Nothing happened. The fire alarm had just gone out of order. Go back to work.'
But we quickly understood that there was a fire. As we again ran for the exit point we found it locked from outside, and it was too late."
Mohammad Ripu, survivor of garment factory fire, Bangladesh
Mr. Ripu leaped from a second-floor window, suffering minor injuries, but managed to save himself. A dozen other desperate workers, attempting to escape the conflagration that swept through the eight-storey building that housed a Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory that produces fashion wear for such enterprises as Ikea, WalMart, Carrefour were far less fortunate.
Although the fire alarm in the factory rang its warning, it was ignored by the factory managers. An exit door was locked. Fire extinguishers were not in working order. They were there to give a good impression to any inspectors and customers that might pass through the factory. And so, one hundred workers were trapped in the building and incinerated beyond recognition.
And a dozen workers who had thought to save themselves from the flames, leaping from the factory windows into the void, found death in their desperation to survive. The local fire department operations director said investigators suspect a short circuit caused the factory fire. Major Mahbub felt it was not the fire itself but the lack of any safety measures that created the deadly situation.
"Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower." Bangladesh treated Tuesday as a day of national mourning.
And in Germany's Black Forest region a few days later, a fire consumed a modern, three-storey centre in which was located metalworking, woodworking and electrical installation workshops. The centre was operated by the Catholic Church's Caritas organization. It provided training and employment for disabled people.
One hundred firefighters responded to cope with the blaze that broke out at the complex in Titisee-Neustadt early Monday afternoon. The cause of that fire is not yet known. Fourteen peoople died in the blaze. "The biggerst problem this afternoon was the smoke situation" said a police spokesman. "It will take days to investigate what caused the fire", said another police spokesman.
"The fire spread unusually fast", Baden-Wuerttemberg state's fire chief informed the public broadcaster. Two minutes after the automatic fire alert was heard, neighbours called, reporting smoke emitting from the building. The mayor of the town said the centre's buildings are quite new.
In a poverty-stricken, developing third-world country poor working conditions, lack of security and planning responsible for a devastating fire; in an technologically advanced country with all security systems in place another devastating fire.
Plans poorly pursued, plans well laid; man proposes, fortune and fate dispose in futility.
Labels: Catastrophe, Misadventure, Tragedy
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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