Bangladesh garment factory received two fire safety warnings before blaze
A factory in Bangladesh which burned down in November 2012, in a huge fire which also killed 112 employees, had previously received two serious warnings to improve fire safety measures.
This new information about the factory, which was used to produce clothes for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., was provided by emergency services officials. In a recent statement to the press, the director-general of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah, said that the factory was also operating without a license. He said:
“The fire safety certification expired on June 30, but the department did not renew it because fire safety provisions had not been put in place,”
The factory’s owner, the garments manufacturer Tuba Group, was warned repeatedly of the status of the licence as well as the need to make urgent improvements to fire safety measures and fire safety training. However, it ignored the warnings and a blaze broke out on 24th November 2012, leading to the death of 112 workers.
After the fire, Wal-Mart and another company, Sears, stated that they had not approved the unlicensed factory to carry out the work, which had reportedly been subcontracted without the clients’ knowledge.