Here we can see some of the fire accidents which has made a greater impact on organizations, during these accidents, most of the documents were burnt completely; if they had stored their records in any of the vaults, they would not have been lost important data here we can know about the importance of records storage. Now let's see a few fire accidents that will help us to know the importance of records management services.
China Zhili Toy Factory Fire
On the night of November 19 -20, 1993 a sudden blaze arose from the ground floor of Zhili Toy Factory, China. The cause of fire was supposed to be friction in the machinery room that was attached to the material depot. The incident tolled more than 100 lives and about 50 severe injuries.
There were only a single exit and a fire escape but both were locked.
The Fire Brigade arrived after 30 minutes of the blaze and found piled up dead bodies in a heap at a locked exit. Deaths were more due to suffocation and crushed while trying to escape than by burns.
Investigation Report accounted that,
· The factory had breached Safety Regulations. Worker’s dormitories, production facilities, and storage all were in one Building.
· Bars were added to windows.
· Exit doors and fire escape were locked at working hours.
· Firefighters ran short of water.
This incident at the workplace, geared up the China Government to perfect Hong Kong’s legal system with “Draconian Security Law”. The Security Law includes a column about the assurance for Human Right Protection, and criminal penalties without a legislative process for breaching safety laws.
THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE
The Triangle Shirtwaist Industry fire is the topmost World’s Worst Fire Accident. This deadliest mishap horrified the whole world.
On Saturday, March 25, 1911, fire broke about 5 PM on 8, 9 & 10 the floors of an Asch building at Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY. The Shirtwaist factory had accommodated those three floors. The fire spread within a few minutes throughout the 3 floors as fabrics laid everywhere.
It was supposed that the cause of the fire was the disposal of an unextinguished cigarette butt in a scrap bin full of fabric cuttings.
Workers rushed to the exit gate but doors of stairways and elevators were closed. Many of the workers jumped from the high windows to escape but died by falling on concrete pavement below. Others died due to inhalation of smoke or by burns.
Firefighters found a 6 ft high pile of bodies jammed up against a stairway door.
Among the 146 fatalities, 123 were women and girls most of the age between 14 to 23.
The Asch building still stands today and known as Brown Building as it got the color from frantic fire in 1911.
Investigation Report revealed some Implausible facts,
The doors of stairways, elevators, and fire escape were locked during working hours. The foreman possessing keys had already escaped.
The warning alarm was not installed.
In place of fire extinguishers, buckets were placed. Those were also empty at the time of mishap.
There was only a rusted single iron fire escape that collapsed quickly.
Fire Department’s ladders were not long enough to reach above the 7th floor.
The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire striked up the fight for the safety of workers at workplaces. It also led to legislation necessary to improve industrial safety standards.
The New York State Legislature had established a ” Factory Investigation Commission” to investigate and report Remedial Measures of Legislation to prevent hazards through fire.
The first Fire Protection Protocol was composed after The dreadful tragedy of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
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