Mirpur fire: Smoke still billowing from chemical warehouse after 2 days, expert team visits site

Although fire-fighters brought the blaze at a chemical warehouse and adjacent garment factory in Shialbari, Mirpur, under control yesterday (15 October), thick smoke continues to billow from the site two days later.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence has confirmed that the blaze has not been fully extinguished yet, with four fire-fighting units still working at the scene, Lima Khanam, duty officer at the Fire Service control room, confirmed around 2pm today (16 October).

"The fire was brought under control around 4:20pm yesterday, about 28 hours after it started. However, it has not been completely doused yet — smoke is still rising from the warehouse," she said.

"Four of our units are working to fully extinguish the remaining fire. However, the situation is under control, and there is no risk of the fire reigniting," she added.

A four-member team led by Md Monzur Reza, senior general manager of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), also visited the site today.

The expert team also included Prof Zillur Rahman from the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience at the University of Dhaka, and Syed Ahmed Kabir, Deputy Director of the Department of Environment, along with two others.

Meanwhile, the Fire Service is using ground monitors to spray high volume of water to extinguish the fire in the charred chemical warehouse.

"We are now using ground monitors to spray water in the chemical warehouse to douse the flame," Talha bin Zasim, media officer of the Fire Service, told BSS. 

Although the inferno was partially brought under control, it will take much time to completely douse the blaze, he said.

The officer reminded all that the smoke which is still billowing from the chemical warehouse, is hazardous for the people and called upon all to maintain distance of at least 300 yards from the depot. 

He said they are now making people aware about the adverse impact of the smoke and water billowing out from the chemical warehouse through mic.

"But, people do not pay heed to the campaign," he said. 

However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has started collecting samples of the family members of 16 victims killed in the devastating fire for DNA profiling to handover their bodies to their relatives. 

"Six families of the Mirpur fire victims have so far given DNA samples to the CID forensic lab till 11:55 am today since the morning," special police super of the CID (media) Jasim Uddin Khan told BSS.

The bodies of 16 people will be handed over to their families only after DNA profiling is completed, police said.

Sub-Inspector Muklesur Rahman Laskar of Rupnagar Police Station confirmed the development to the media yesterday, explaining that multiple families have claimed some of the same bodies. 

"To avoid any confusion, DNA profiling will be carried out before the handover," he said.

Inquest reports have already been prepared for all 16 bodies recovered from the ready-made garment (RMG) factory.

The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) authorities collected bone and tissue samples from six of the bodies today, and their autopsies were conducted in the presence of CID forensic lab examiner Md Masud Rabbi.

Rabbi told the media that samples from the remaining 10 bodies will be collected tomorrow.

He urged family members of the victims to provide their own DNA samples at the CID Headquarters lab in Malibagh at 9am today. The collected DNA samples will be matched to confirm the identities of the victims.

The fire broke out around 11:30am on 14 October at the tin-shed chemical warehouse and spread to the adjacent four-storey Anwar Fashion garment factory. Locals said the blaze started on the factory's ground floor and quickly spread to the chemical warehouse, triggering loud explosions that engulfed all four floors.

Workers tried to escape, but many were trapped. The Fire Service said the chemical warehouse contained bleaching powder, plastic, and hydrogen peroxide.

By 7:15pm yesterday, rescue teams had recovered the charred bodies of 16 victims from the scene and sent them to the DMCH morgue.

A day after a chemical warehouse fire yesterday, toxic fumes spread across the neighbourhood, leaving dozens of workers from nearby factories sick and forcing several garment and plastic factories to suspend operations.

Many workers who had returned to their factories in the morning fell ill shortly after inhaling the gas, while others were sent home as authorities decided to close their units temporarily.