Fire in Purana Paltan building under control

Firefighters working to douse Zaman Tower blaze in Purana Paltan under control on 26 Feb. Photo: Collcted

A fire that broke out in a multi-storied building in Purana Paltan earlier this morning was brought under control after two hours of efforts.

The fourth and fifth floors of Zaman Tower caught fire, which was reported at 5:30am and brought under control by 7:35am. 

Saleh Uddin, BFM deputy director of Dhaka Division, briefed the media, saying, "Due to the risk assessment, 14 units were sent to the scene of the fire at Zaman Tower, of which five units were not required to operate. In total nine units worked on controlling the fire.

The fire originated from a restaurant on the building's sixth floor, said Mohammad Saleh Uddin, the deputy director of the Fire Service's Dhaka Division.

"Due to ventilation issues, the fire and smoke spread across the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th floors. Smoke also spread through the electrical dark line and the stairwells" he added. 

The building had fire safety measures in place, but the Fire Service reported that not all of them worked properly, added Saleh Uddin

He also said water was sprayed from outside using TTTL, and then the personnel entered the building to extinguish the fire with water.

So far, no casualties have been reported and two people have been rescued from the 10th floor, he added.

Saleh Uddin also stated that an investigation would be conducted to understand why there have been repeated fires at Zaman Tower.