Chawkbazar fire: Flammable chemicals fueled it, says DSCC probe official
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Flammable chemicals were behind the fire to spread in a flash and last longer in Old Dhaka’s Chawkbazar, says an official of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)’s investigation committee.
The buildings, engulfed by the fire, had storage of flammable chemicals, Lt Col SM Julfiqur Rahman told reporters after visiting the buildings this morning.
There were cans of deodorants and lighter refilling fuel inside the fire-engulfed buildings. These are, of course, flammable chemicals, according to him.
The DSCC formed an 11-member committee on Thursday asking it to recommend what to do next about the buildings ruined and rendered risky by the devastating fire that claimed around 70 lives.
They visited the buildings at 9:00am on Friday.
Two other members of the committee also spoke after the visit.
A civil engineering professor at Bangladesh University of Science and Technology, Mehedi Ahmed Ansari, who is also on the committee, said the beams and columns of Wahed Mansion, where the fire reportedly started, on the ground floor and first floor were massively damaged.
“We need to carry out some tests to discover whether the building now has the structural support to stand safely.”
Asked whether there were fire extinguishers at the building, Nurujjaman Jahir, an engineer of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), said there was hardly any such security equipment in the building. Even though Wahed Mansion was construted on 10 kathas of land, there were not enough stairs as well.
According to government information, 67 people were killed in the fire at Churihatta of Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka. Of them, 45 bodies have already been handed over to their families.
Nine among those injured in the fire have been admitted to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Their conditions are very critical, according to doctors.
According to Chawkbazar police, a case was filed over the devastating fire at 11:45pm on Thursday.
A sub-inspector at the local police station, Delwar Hossain filed the case against anonymous persons, accusing them of the tragedy.