United News of Bangladesh

The cause of the devastating fire that engulfed Building No-7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat still remains unknown, said Muhammad Jahed Kamal, Director General (DG) of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD), on Thursday. Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat at noon, DG Jahed said that the fire had been completely extinguished by 11:45 am. He said 10 firefighting units were deployed to combat the blaze, and one of the Secretariat’s gates had to be demolished to allow two large firefighting vehicles access to the scene. The fire severely damaged four floors of Building No-7, from the sixth to the ninth, where multiple key ministries and divisions were housed. These included the Youth and Sports Ministry, Labour and Employment Ministry, Posts and Telecommunications Division, Local Government Division, Rural Development and Cooperatives Division, and the Road Transport and Highway Division. Read: Fire ravages secretariat building, spreads across 3 floors: Home Adviser The floors were completely destroyed, reducing them to debris, as reported by UNB’s senior correspondent from the scene. Talking about the incident earlier, Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that it would be determined through investigation whether the fire was an act of sabotage. He said that the Cabinet Secretary had been instructed to form a high-level body to investigate the cause of the fire.  The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and authorities are working to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this massive blaze at one of the country's most significant government buildings, he added.

Director General of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department Brig General Md Moin Uddin has urged the intelligence agencies to investigate whether there was any sabotage behind the recent series of fire incidents. He said this while replying to a question from journalists after a fire broke out in New Supermarket near New Market early Saturday (April 15, 2023) morning. "We're working for you with risks. One after another fire incident is taking place. I will call on the intelligence agencies to check if there is any sabotage,” he said. Read more: Fire at Dhaka’s New Supermarket now under control The fire broke out on the third floor of New Supermarket and the members of the Border Guard Bangladesh fire service, police, Rapid Action Battalion, army, air force, Dhaka WASA water-carrying vehicles, were working to bring the fire under control, he added. “We still don't know why the fire broke out here. We have brought the fire under control but could not douse it,” said Brig Gen Moin adding that they are facing difficulty to bring the fire under control because of onlookers. "If everyone remains aware at every level, then it is possible to survive the fire. High volt bulbs are used here. Accidents happen because they are not aware. We urge shop owners in all markets to refrain from using high-voltage lights,” the fire service DG said. Read More: Fire at Barishal Plaza, opposite Bangabazar Market, doused

The explosion in a building at Dhaka’s Science lab area was a massive accident,said Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brig Gen Md Moin Uddin on Monday. “We are primarily suspecting that accumulated gas caused the blast. We are investigating further and looking into other probabilities,” he said while talking to reporters after attending an event at Mirpur DOHS. He also said that the army's bomb disposal unit found no sign of explosive substances on the spot. Also Read: Collapsed Science Lab building declared abandoned At least three people died and more than 50 were injured when Shirin Mansion, a three-storey building, partially collapsed due to an "explosion that triggered a fire" at Dhaka's Science Lab area on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Tushar, Shafikuzzaman, and Abdul Mannan. Also Read: No use of explosives found in Science Lab building explosion: Army team  A team comprising members of the bomb disposal unit and chemical disaster response team (CDRT) of Bangladesh Army inspected the explosion site Sunday afternoon and carried out tests. On Sunday afternoon, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) authorities put up a banner declaring the building dangerous and abandoned.