[pullquote]“I did not see any sprinklers in the factories I inspected, and factory owners I talked to did not know what sprinklers are.”[/pullquote]This November 24, 2013, will be the one-year anniversary of the Tazreen Fashions factory fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed 112 people.  Since then, Bangladesh (the world’s 2nd leading clothing exporter) has experienced several more occupational disasters & fires – the most recent ocurring October 8 in the Aswad garment factory in Gazipur, where 10 people lost their lives.

The appalling lack of Fire Safety Standards is obvious & rampant in this and other third-world countries.  One investigative reporter recently remarked “I did not see any sprinklers in the factories I inspected, and factory owners I talked to did not know what sprinklers are.”

While most U.S. localites require Fire Sprinklers on new construction, the U.S. is riddled with old buildings still in operation as factories, apartments, or stores – even highrises – that are NOT presently required to have sprinkler systems.

In light of these recent tragedies, we appeal to those who own such properties to do the right thing – NOT out of legislative compulsion… but because lives hang in the balance.  Fire will strike.  But we can be ready for it when it does.