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FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION REPORT

ALLIANCE GARMENTS LTDHOUSE # 8 & 10, ROAD # 3, SECTION # 7, MIRPUR

INDUSTRIAL AREA, DHAKA-1216

May 5, 2014

Other Factories: None

Accord - Bangladesh RMG Fire Safety InspectionAlliance Garments Ltd

Fire Safety Inspection ReportAlliance Garments Ltd

IntroductionAlliance Garments Ltd manufacturing complex was surveyed for fire safety on5/5/2014 by Hughes Associates, Inc.

The purpose of the survey was to identify significant fire safety issues and toprovide recommendations for remediation based on applicable standardsspecified by the Accord. The scope of this initial fire safety inspection waslimited to the review and identification of major fire safety issues. Theinspection did not include identification of minor deficiencies, which will befurther addressed as part of follow-up inspections.

LimitationsThe information in this fire safety inspection report was obtained during a visitto the facility and during interviews with local factory management. It has notbeen possible to provide independent verification for all the information anddata collected, and, therefore, Hughes cannot accept general responsibility foromissions or errors arising from inaccuracies in this report from the informationobtained.

The findings and recommendations in this report are not intended to imply,guarantee, ensure or warrant compliance with any government regulations.Additionally, the results do not imply in any way that compliance with thefindings or recommendations as stated in this report will eliminate all hazards,risks or exposures or that hazards, risks or exposures not referred to in thisreport do not exist. Compliance with the findings and recommendations statedin this report does not relieve the factory owner from obligation to comply withspecific project requirements, industry standards, or the provisions of any localgovernment regulations.


Factory name(s):Alliance Garments Ltd

Factory Address:House # 8 & 10, Road # 3, Section # 7, Mirpur Industrial Area, Dhaka-1216

Points of Contact:Tarikul Islam Rajib,Managing DirectorAlliance Garments Ltd88-01678 [email protected]

Md. Kamruzzaman Khan (Zaman),Admin & Compliance ManagerAlliance Garments [email protected]

General Factory Information


General Building Information - Alliance Garments LtdNo. of Stories Below /Above Grade

0 / 6

High Rise No

High Rise Comments: 15.25 meters height to highest occupiable floor.

Occupancy Classification G2 Industrial

Floor Plans Available Yes

Ground Floor Plan 1st Floor Plan


3rd Floor Plan Building Section

Date Of Construction 1996

Major Renovations No

Other Tenants No

Floors Occupied ByFactory

All floors.

Use

Storage/Day Care/DiningOffice/Cutting/SampleSewingFinishingSewingSewing/Finish

Floor Occupant Load

G12345

1568

20214718491

Construction FeaturesNon-Combustible Yes

Fire-Resistive Yes


Building SurroundingsNorth Open to road

South Open to road

East No separation to a building at all floors.

West Approx. 5' separation to a building at all floors.

Vertical OpeningsStairs Enclosed in Fire-Rated Construction?

Yes

Unsealed Penetrations inStairs

No

Unprotected OpeningsFrom Stairs

Yes

Shafts Enclosed in Fire-Rated Construction

Yes

Floors withOpenings/Penetrations

No

Other Vertical Openings No

Egress FeaturesTwo (2) exit stairs serve the building. Egress from the ground floor is provided by three (3)exits. Each floor had an adequate number of exits with sufficient exit capacity based onoccupant load. All exit stairs were not remotely located. All exits discharge to the exterior of thebuilding. All exit stairs are open to the floors due to unprotected openings.Sliding gates or roll-up doors were used at building exits, exit stairs and exit discharge. Egressdoors with locking features were present at exit stairs and exit discharge. All gates and doorswere open and unlocked during the inspection. Emergency evacuation plans were located atexit stairs. Fire drills are conducted monthly and records were maintained.


Floor Exit Capacity

G12345

600350350350350350

No. Exits

322222

Occupant Load

1568

20214718491

General

Number of ExitsAdequate

Yes

Exits Remote No

Exit Doors

Sliding Gates/DoorsUsed?

Yes

Egress Doors SwingCorrectly?

Yes

Egress Doors Lockable? Yes

Exit Stairs

All Stairs Discharge tothe Exterior?

Yes

Handrails on at least OneSide?

Yes

Storage Located inStairs?

No

Exit Access From Factory Areas


Storage in Egress Paths? No

Egress Paths ofAdequate Width?

Yes

Excessive TravelDistances, CPT, DE's

No

Emergency Planning

Emergency EvacuationPlans Provided?

Yes

Fire Drills Conducted Yes

Records Maintained Yes

Sample of evacuation plan Sample of evacuation map.

Fire Protection Features


Sprinkler SystemNo automatic sprinkler protection was provided in the building nor is it required.

Fire Hose SystemHose reels with 1 in. hoses were provided adjacent to the west stair.

Hose Size(s) Provided 1 in.

Locations Adjacent to west stair.

Example of fire hose

Fire Water SupplyThe fire hose system is supplied by gravity from a roof tank having a reported capacity of 5,000L. The tank is fed by an underground cistern (with reported capacity of 35,000 L.). There wasno fire pump connected to the system.

Source(s) Tanks.

Location Roof.


Capacity Underground reservoir 35,000 L. / Roof tanks 5,000 L.

Fire Pump No

Fire Alarm SystemA manual fire alarm system was provided in the building. It consisted of manual notificationswitches. A single horn unit were provided at the second floor. It was asserted that theactivation devices are interconnected so the activation of a single device provides audiblenotification for the whole building. There is no fire alarm panel or system supervision. Therewere no records or assertions of regular testing or maintenance of the fire alarm system.

Type of System Manual fire alarm (audible & visual)

Fire Panel Location None

Visible NotificationAppliances?

Yes

Audible NotificationAppliances?

Yes

Alarm Annunciation ManualWhole Building

Functional TestConducted

No

Regular Inspection,Testing, & Maintenance?

No


Fire alarm switch Sound notification.

Fire Detection SystemSingle station smoke alarms are located in various places throughout the factory. These smokealarms are not tied into the fire alarm system. In the event they detect smoke, they will providea local alert sound. There were no records or assertions of regular testing or maintenance ofthe fire detection system.

Type of Detectors Single Station Smoke Alarms


No

Single station smoke alarms


Portable Fire ExtinguishersPortable fire extinguishers, consisting of a mix of CO2 and dry chemical extinguishers, areprovided throughout the building. Inspection tags show recent and up-to-date inspections.

Types Provided CO2, Dry chemeical

AdequateNumber/Spacing?

Yes

Sample of Fire Extinguisher Sample of Fire Extinguishers

Manual Fire Fighting EquipmentEach floor had firefighting equipment staged outside the main floor entrances. Types of manualfirefighting equipment provided included: buckets, escape hoods, bolt/lock cutters, shovels,stretchers and personal protection equipment.

Types of EquipmentProvided

Buckets, escape hoods, bolt/lock cutters, shovels, stretchersand personal protection equipment.

Location of Equipment Adjacent to stairs.

Other Features


Emergency Lighting & Exit SignsEmergency lighting was located inside and outside the exit enclosure walls. Lighting consistedof multiple compact florescent lights that have an alternate “Instant Power Supply” (IPS). Eachfloor had a number of illuminated exit signs (a mix of directional and non-directional) locatedalong the exit access and at exits on each floor. The factory reports that these are serviced bynormal electricity as well as “Instant Power Supply” (IPS). There were no records or assertionsof regular testing or maintenance of the emergency lighting system.Emergency lighting has on/off switches throughout the factory.

Exits and Exit AccessProperly Marked withExit Signage

Yes

Emergency Power IPSBattery

Emergency Lighting forExits & Exit Access

Yes


No

Sample of emergency light. Sample of exit sign


Sample of emergency light

ElevatorsNo elevator was provided in the building.

GeneratorsOne (1) diesel powered generator serves the building. These generator is located in a separatestructure located north of the building. The roof structure is not fire rated.

Location(s) Ground floor

Inside Fuel Storage No

Fire Rated SeparationsProvided?

Yes


Generator Room Generator Room

BoilersA boiler is located on the ground floor of the building. The boiler is surrounded by partial-heightwalls without full separation from the factory floor.

Location(s) Ground floor


No

Boiler room open to floor Boiler room open to floor


TransformersA transformer is located on the ground floor of the building. The transformer is surrounded bypartial-height walls without full separation from the factory floor.

Location(s) Ground Floor


No

Transformer room Transformer room

Storage AreasA storage area was located in the 5th floor, fire rated separation to the factory floor was notprovided.The storage room on the ground floor had ventilation ports along the north wall thatcompromise the fire barrier; also the openings are unprotected.


No

Open to Factory Floors? Yes

Open to Exit Discharge? No


Additional InformationChild care is provided and located next to an exit.


Page 19

Findings & Recommendations

Table 1 summarizes the major fire safety issues identified during the inspection.Recommendations have been provided to address each issue.

An implementation schedule shall be developed by the factory to remediate each of thefindings. The specific timing of improvements, including any requested extensions due todesign / installation constraints, shall be submitted to the Accord for approval.


No. Category Finding RecommendationRemediationTimeframe

Table 1. Findings And Recommendations

Fire RatedConstruction

The boiler room is notseparated by fire-ratedconstruction.

The boiler room islocated in the groundfloor next to the diningarea.

Separate the boiler room by aminimum 1-hr fire-ratedconstruction. Seal and/orprotected all openings tomaintain the required fireseparations

Within 3months

F-1



The exit stairs are notseparated from workareas, on each floor byfire-rated construction.

Provide minimum 1.5-hr firerated doors and seal allunprotected openings toseparate the exit stairs fromwork areas and other buildingspaces on all floor levels.Ensure that the fire doors areself-closing and positivelatching and that they areprovided with fire exit (panic)hardware where servingproduction floors.

If fire doors are required to beheld open for functionalreasons, provide automatic-closing devices tied to the firealarm system.

Within 3months

F-2



Areas used forcombustible storage arenot separated by fire-rated construction.

Storage area is locatedin the 5th floor.

Provide dedicated storagerooms separated by minimum1-hr fire-rated construction.

Where separate storagerooms are not feasible,provide defined storage areasand limit the storagearrangement as follows:- Maximum height of 2.4m andmaximum area of 23m2- If sprinkler protected:maximum height of 3.66m andmaximum area of 93m2

Separate areas of unenclosedcombustible storage by aminimum clear distance of 3m.

Within 3months

F-3



The transformer room isnot separated by fire-rated construction.

The transformer room islocated in the groundfloor next to the storageroom.

Separate the transformer roomby a minimum 2-hr fire-ratedconstruction. Seal and/orprotected all openings tomaintain the required fireseparations

Within 3months

F-4



Storage rooms withcombustible materials atground floor were notfire separated or hadunprotected openings.

Separate the storage roomsby a minimum 1-hr fire-ratedconstruction.

Provide minimum .75-hr firerated doors and seal allunprotected openings toseparate the storage roomsfrom work areas and otherbuilding spaces at the groundfloor.

Within 3months

F-5


Egress Egress doors / gateswith locking features areprovided at west exitstairs and exitdischarge.

Remove locking features fromall egress doors / gates.

If locks are required forsecurity reasons, utilizespecial door locking featurescomplying with NFPA 101.

ImmediateF-6


Egress Collapsible gates androll-up doors areprovided at buildingexits, exit stairs and exitdischarge.

Lockable sliding gatesare provided at weststair and exit dischargeand roll-up doors at eastexit stair.

Replace all gates and roll-updoors along the means ofegress with side-hinged,swinging egress doors.

If locks are required forsecurity reasons, utilizespecial door locking featurescomplying with NFPA 101.

Within 1month

F-7

Egress The exits are notremotely located fromeach other such that asingle fire event couldcompromise both exits.

At all floors the approx.separation of exit stairsis 46' and the minimumseparation requiredbased on the diagonaldistance of the floors isapprox. 52'.

Modify exit arrangement. Within 6months

F-8


Fire Protection The fire alarm system isantiquated, not a listedsystem, and does notprovide alarm andnotification featuresconsistent withacceptable standards.

Replace the fire alarm systemwith a new, listed addressablefire alarm system inaccordance with NFPA 72.

Designwithin 4months,install

within 9months

F-9

Fire Protection Inspection, testing, andmaintenance for the firealarm system was not inaccordance with NFPA72.

Inspect, test and maintain thefire alarm system, and keepwritten records on-site, inaccordance with NFPA 72.

Within 3months

F-10


Fire Protection The building is equippedwith single-stationsmoke alarms. Smokealarm activation soundsonly a local alarm anddoes not provideautomatic fire alarmnotification ofoccupants.

Replace the single-stationsmoke alarms. Provideautomatic smoke detectionthroughout the building inaccordance with NFPA 72.

Within 6months

F-11


EgressLighting

Inspection, testing, andmaintenance records forthe emergency lightingsystem were notavailable.

Inspect, test and maintain theemergency lighting system inaccordance with TheACCORD standard. Keepwritten records on-site.

Within 3months

F-12

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