MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has launched a fire safety audit of major public buildings across the region following the recent fire at a major health facility in Islamabad that claimed the lives of several newborn babies.

SDMA Director General Saeed Qureshi has told journalists that the exercise was aimed at identifying shortcomings in fire safety arrangements, emergency evacuation systems and other safeguards and ensuring their timely rectification.

Hospitals, educational institutions and other important government buildings would be covered by the audit, he said. “District-level fire safety audit committees have been constituted to conduct detailed technical surveys of selected buildings.

They will examine fire alarm and detection systems, firefighting equipment, emergency exits and evacuation routes, electrical systems, emergency response arrangements and fire drills, among other safety measures,” Mr Qureshi said.

He said the fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) had highlighted the need not only to install fire safety equipment and systems but also to ensure their regular inspection and maintenance, practical training and effective evacuation procedures.

The district committees would identify deficiencies and make specific recommendations for their rectification in their audit reports, he said. The reports would subsequently be consolidated into a comprehensive AJK fire safety audit report for submission to the competent authorities for necessary corrective measures.

Mr Qureshi said he was directly supervising the audit and had directed the district committees to complete the exercise within the stipulated timeframe in a comprehensive and technically sound manner.

“The objective is to move beyond responding to disasters after they occur and focus on identifying risks in advance, improving preparedness and strengthening preventive measures to protect human lives, critical infrastructure and public property,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2026