Why Fire Safety Training Must Be a Core Part of Every School Curriculum

Fire safety training refers to instructing students and staff regarding avoidance, combat, and escape during fire emergencies. It involves fire hazards, operation of a fire extinguisher, means of escape in case of fire, and emergency evacuation procedure. Even though it may be lifesaving, fire safety is not found in most of the school curricula in Bangladesh. It places students at risk since most schools do not have basic equipment such as fire extinguishers, safety guidelines, and practice drills. The disparity points to the need for implementing fire safety into the country's educational curriculum.

On 21 July 2025, a Bangladesh Air Force plane aircraft crashed into Milestone School & College, Uttara, Dhaka, killing 27 individuals including 25 students and leaving more than 170 injured, most of whom had severe burns as fire swept the campus. In April 2025, a short circuit fire inside Collectorate Public School, Thakurgaon, disrupted SSC examinations. In January 2024, suspected arson for the burning of Tipna Government Primary School left its library damaged in Khulna. These were reported in 26,659 fires, of which 78 were at school buildings and these tragedies showing some very ominous trends.

Students and instructors at most schools have no minimum knowledge about a reaction to a fire accident. They run amok, go blindly, or are paralyzed in fear, making the situation even worse and exposing more danger to being injured or killed. Not many are aware of employing fire extinguishers, finding emergency exits, or using evacuation procedures. This widespread ignorance is only compounded by the obvious necessity of recurrent fire drill training to provide assurance, banish confusion, and allow for a prompt, systematic response in real emergencies.

Most schools in Bangladesh never conduct fire drills, and neither the students nor teachers receive training to handle actual emergencies. With no hands-on training, they don't get to know the escape paths, alarm sounds, or rules to handle a crisis situation. In the absence of preparation, in actual fires, typically panic, stampede, and tardy escape take place. Routine.fire.drills, if implemented, can be extremely effective in eliminating panic, introducing coordination, and being lifesavers by enabling all to know what to do and where to go during a fire.

It is a point that the majority of schools operate in overcrowded and under-equipped, rundown buildings of old buildings with worn-out electric wiring, clogged emergency routes, and no fire alarms or extinguishers. Such un-safe situations multiply the chances of fire many times and complicate evacuation during emergency situations. Under such an arrangement, the slightest spark will result in a catastrophic disaster. Such an infrastructural vulnerability makes it all the more imperative to have round-the-clock fire preparedness work, such as constant safety checks, adequate equipment, and training for staff and students safety.

One-off awareness cannot prepare students for fire incidents. Fire safety needs periodic, routine training which becomes automatic to students knowledge. Integrating it into school curricula makes children trained from time to time in helpful skills such as evacuation drills, fire prevention, and handling emergencies. Beginning from the primary level, it creates lifelong sense and responsibility. Integrating fire safety into education brings it from sporadic lectures to an ongoing effort with the goal of protecting lives and preventing disasters.

Children who have received fire safety training can effectively serve as change agents in their communities and families. After learning about safe escape, emergency response, and fire risk, students are likely to share this knowledge with their parents and neighbors. In previous disaster preparedness activities conducted in Bangladesh, for example, cyclone preparedness education, children were able to effectively empower better response from families during disasters. In the same way, equipping students with fire safety training has a ripple effect, developing a culture of safety that spreads from school to society.

Education boards and school administration are primarily responsible for making sure that schools are prepared for fires. Schools are required by institutional accountability to keep their facilities safe, practice fire drills frequently, and provide staff and student training. The next step should be for education boards to require fire safety modules in textbooks or as part of extracurricular policies. Safety continues to be neglected in the absence of official policy guidance. Regulating and supervising fire safety education can create a preparedness culture that reduces risks and saves lives in emergency situations.

In Bangladesh, there is no specific law or national education policy that requires schools to provide fire safety training. Because of this, most schools are not prepared for emergencies. This gap in laws and policies is very different from countries like Japan, the UK, and Singapore, where fire drills and safety lessons are part of what students learn. Without a law that makes fire safety a must, it is often ignored. Bangladesh needs to quickly create similar rules to ensure schools are ready and to keep students safe from fires that could be avoided.

Fire Service and Civil Defence should play a proactive role in school-based fire safety education. The experts can provide the right training through workshops, showing how things work, and doing practice exercises. This happens when fire departments and schools work together regularly. Teachers and students can learn from these experts how to stop fires, stay calm if a fire starts, and leave a building safely. This kind of real-world, expert-led training helps build confidence and readiness. Making this teamwork a regular part of school life can fill in the gaps in knowledge and help schools become safer places that are better prepared to deal with actual fire emergencies.

Fire safety training can be easily added to schools without spending much money by using smart and affordable ways. Schools can show videos, put up posters, and create simple maps to show how to escape in case of a fire. Doing practice drills every month doesn't need special tools but helps everyone know what to do. Working with local groups like NGOs, fire departments, or community centers can offer free or low-cost training. By using what's already available and getting help from the community, schools can start strong fire safety programs that protect students and teachers without making their budget too tight.

Bangladesh needs a big national effort to make fire safety a top priority in schools. This means raising awareness among people, changing policies, and having strong support from institutions. Keeping kids safe begins by teaching them about fire, practicing safety drills, and making sure schools have safe buildings. Everyone involved like government officials, school leaders, and local communities has to take action right away. Only by working together across the country can we stop future disasters and make sure no child loses their life because of a fire that could have been prevented.


MD. Noor Hamza Peash is an
LL.B. student, Department
of Law in World University
of Bangladesh, Dhaka.