Bangladesh Suffers Shortage Of Co2 Fire Extinguishers

Recent press reports suggest that a major power station in Bangladesh is facing an extremely dangerous situation due to a lack of CO2 fire extinguishers. The Khulna Power Station, which is situated in the city of Khulna in the south-west of the country, has reportedly suffered a number of minor electrical fires recently, which have been brought under control, but have left the plant operating well under capacity. Local industries depend on the power generated by the Khulna power station.

There is, worryingly, also a desperate shortage of CO2 fire extinguishers and other fire fighting equipment used to combat electrical fires at the plant. The fear is that if a major fire were to break out, the resources to bring the blaze under control would not be there, resulting in certain power shortages and possible injury or indeed loss of life.

CO2 fire extinguishers are suitable for electrical fires due to the gas being of a non-conductive nature, unlike water which most certainly cannot be used on an electrical fire, and the fact that they leave no foam or residue behind. The CO2 gas is stored within the extinguisher canister in liquid form under extremely high pressure which, upon release, reverts back to a gas and rapidly cools the surrounding air and therefore extinguishing a fire.

Despite the fact that local authorities in Bangladesh were reportedly allocated the funds to purchase this essential equipment several months ago, the power station still lacks an adequate supply of CO2 fire extinguishers. Power plant sources claim the amount allocated, Tk 3 Lakh around 3000 GBP, is nowhere near enough though.

This power plant would seem to be at great risk of a major fire, having suffered several smaller fires in recent years. It is desperately in need of updating, with three out of four of its power plants out of order at the time of writing. This means that electricity is having to be purchased from elsewhere in order to sustain the needs of the local population. Staff at the plant believe it would be much cheaper to carry out the repairs necessary at the Khulna Power Station, so it could recommence the supply of power to the mills and factories of the area.

Local people believe the caretaker government of Bangladesh cancelled a major proposal which would have completely overhauled two of the power plants and enabled them to get back to supplying the region with power.