A fire broke out in a garment factory in the Ghazipur district of Bangladesh on June 15,2022. The fire department rushed to the scene immediately and the fire was extinguished without causing any casualties. Once the news came out, it attracted the attention of EPCB boiler.

In recent years, Bangladesh's garment industry has developed very rapidly. It is the second largest garment production base in the world. Garment factories are densely populated places with many flammable and combustible materials, which are particularly prone to fires.

Boilers are the necessary production equipment for garment factories. As a well-known local boiler supplier in Bangladesh, EPCB has been deeply involved in the garment industry for decades, and has a very good understanding of the production and operation of the garment industry. It can be a wake-up call for garment owners.

Fire Hazard in Garment Factory

Fire accidents occur frequently in small and medium-sized garment factories, which is also closely related to the fire hazards in garment factories. Generally speaking, there are 4 aspects:

1. There are many flammable and combustible materials

2. The workshop is small and the functional areas are mixed

3. Extensive use of electrical equipment

4. Weak security awareness of employees

1. There are many flammable and combustible materials

Garment production will use a lot of raw materials such as chemical fiber, nylon and leather. These raw materials and their semi-finished products and finished products are mostly flammable and combustible, which are easy to cause fire.

2. The workshop is small and the functional areas are mixed

Some garment factories are small because of the factory buildings, do not have separate warehouses, the workshops and warehouses are mixed, and there is no effective fire separation, and the fire load of the factory buildings is large.

3. Extensive use of electrical equipment

Garment factories use a lot of electrical equipment in the process of cutting, sewing, ironing, etc. The number of lighting fixtures and power distribution lines are large and widely distributed, and most of them are open display, that is important fire hazards in garment factories.

4. Weak security awareness of employees

The garment factory has frequent personnel turnover, unfamiliar employees with firefighting facilities and equipment, lack of firefighting safety training, and poor self-rescue and escape ability of personnel, which increases the hazard of fire accidents.

Fire Prevention Countermeasures in Garment Factory

So what can be done to prevent fire accidents? The following points can be used for reference by garment factories.

1. Improve firefighting facilities to ensure that they are in good condition and effective.

It can effectively control the trend of fire by detecting and quickly putting out the initial fire. Therefore, garment factories should set up automatic alarm systems, automatic sprinkler systems and other equipment to detect and extinguish fires in time.

Set up a sufficient number of evacuation signs according to regulations to ensure that the safe exit and evacuation channels are in a smooth state, and it is strictly forbidden to be crowded by raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products. There must be fire hydrants indoors and outdoors, and in a state of water.

2. Be careful when using electricity and fire.

Renovate old lines in a timely manner, formulate safety management and on-duty systems for power sources, fire sources, and inflammable and explosive materials, and strictly implement the step-by-step fire prevention responsibility system and post fire responsibility system. Qualified professional electricians should be invited to operate the wiring; the use of electrical equipment must be standardized, especially the use of high-temperature equipment such as irons and electric stoves to prevent ignition of combustibles. Smoking is strictly prohibited, and those found to be smokers in the factory will be dealt with seriously.

3. Fire separation and smoke prevention are very important.

Garment factories are full of flammable and combustible materials. In order to effectively prevent the spread of fire, it is particularly important to carry out fire separation. Specifically, the garment factory should divide the building space into several smaller fireproof spaces with components such as firewalls and Class A fire doors, so as to control the fire and create conditions for fire fighting and personnel evacuation.

4. Eliminate fluke mentality

The frequent occurrence of fires in small and medium-sized garment factories is closely related to the luck of managers and employees. All personnel of the garment factory must recognize the particularity of the garment factory, keep the knowledge of fire safety in mind, and do a good job in the fire prevention work of the garment factory from their own perspective.

5. Strengthen daily fire management

Clarify the responsibilities of each post, strict rules and regulations, find those who violate the regulations, educate them seriously, and take measures of reward, punishment and incentive. Special personnel are responsible for key parts, such as warehouses, electrical boxes and sockets. Strengthen daily fire management, clean up the cleanup in a timely manner, deal with the treatment seriously, and never be lenient when discovering hidden dangers, and eliminate hidden dangers in the bud.

Conclusion

To sum up, with the development of the garment industry, strengthening fire prevention work has become one of the important links in the production of enterprises. Because the fire in the garment factory has the characteristics of rapid burning, scientific and reasonable prevention and rescue strategies should be implemented. In peacetime, we should do a good job in the fire layout of the enterprise, increase the investment in equipment, and seize the opportunity to extinguish the fire in the event of a fire, do a good job of division of labor and cooperation, and reduce losses.

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