Chattogram EPZ blaze: Officials say factory lacked fire safety certificate, violated building code

The Fire Service says the factory building gutted in a fire in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) did not have a fire safety performance certificate.

Fire Service Director (Operations and Maintenance) Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury made the remark in response to questions from the media on Friday during an inspection.

“They applied for [a safety certificate for] this building. But no further activities were carried out. When applying, the design has to be submitted. Then we formed an inspection committee. The committee conducts an inspection and checks the design for congruity.

“Then the NOC was provided. The owners were then given time. They had to do the safety NCO and get the performance certificate. The performance certificate is given after seeing whether the fire safety conditions given in the NOC have been implemented. If you get the performance certificate, you are safe. The application was filed in this case, but the remaining activities were not carried out.”

An application was made for a safety certificate, but the following stage in the process was incomplete. Building code rules were not followed in the construction of the building either.

In addition, products were stored on four floors of the building without following guidelines. These products burnt and turned into chemicals that further stoked the intensity of the fire, Tajul said.

He said, “The building is mixed-use. The first three floors are for Adams Caps. The next four floors were stores. The principal of the store was not protected. The products there burnt and turned into another chemical agent.

“There were many things there, including doctors’ aprons, medical gowns. It burned for a long time due to the chemicals. If you looked at the fire, you could see that the flames were blue. There was so much fuel that it took a long time to burn through and for the fire to ease. It developed very quickly, so we had to hurry.”

Tajul said, “If you look at the building, it is open from two sides. But for the other two sides, the safeguards required according to the building codes, were not followed.

“The building next door was very close. It did not have a safeguard and so firefighters could not take up position there.”

Stating the fire had been brought under control, the Fire Service official gave an update on the condition of the building.

“This building burnt for a long time. When the temperature reaches 800-1,000 degrees Celsius, the RCC columns lose their strength. The fifth to the eighth floor collapsed and fell, getting sandwiched together.

“Because of this, it was difficult for us. But we maintained a safe distance and carried out the operation. It took us a while, but no one was hurt.”

He said, “Apart from this building, another building also suffered some damage. A quarter of it was damaged, and fragments fell on it from above. However, we did not allow the fire to spread to any other building in the CEPZ. Despite it being a chemical and mixed fire, it did not spread to any other building. That is a major success for us.

“Other buildings that are not compliant should be made compliant quickly so that such assets are not destroyed again. This is not only a loss to the owners, but also to the country. Let lives and assets be saved.”

Stating that a f-member investigation committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the blaze, Tajul said: “We cannot confirm the cause until the investigation is completed. The committee has been given 15 working days to submit its investigation report.

“There were no deaths or injuries. There were no reports to the effect. There were no casualties.”

He thanked the EPZ authorities, the Army, Navy, Air Force, police, BGB, and Ansar for their role in helping to control the fire and for their cooperation in extinguishing it.

The fire originated in a multi-storey building on Road 5 of Sector 1 in the EPZ area. The building houses two companies -- Adams Cap and Textile Ltd and Jiehong Medical Company.

Fire Service officials said the eight-storey building had an unused top floor with a tin ceiling. The seventh floor contained the warehouses of Adams Cap and Jiehong Medical, from where the fire is believed to have started.

Adams Cap produces towels and caps, while Jiehong Medical manufactures surgical gowns and other medical equipment.

At the time of the fire, most workers had left the building for their lunch break, allowing them to evacuate safely.

Citing factory authorities, Fire Service officials said no workers were inside the building when the blaze erupted.