Fire at secretariat under control, 1 firefighter killed in line of duty
Eighteen firefighting units worked for six hours since 1:52am to douse the blaze
The fire at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, which gutted several floors of Building No 7 early today (26 December), has been brought under control after six hours of effort by the firefighters.
"The first report about the fire breaking out in the secretariat came at 1:52am. Several firefighting units reached the scene and started fighting the flames at 1:54am," Fire Service and Civil Defence media cell officer Talha Bin Jasim told The Business Standard at 3:45am.
As the fire's intensity grew, at least 19 units were dispatched there. The firefighters brought the flames under control at around 8:05am, Talha said later.
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Talking to reporters outside the secretariat in the morning, Fire Service Director General (DG) Brig Gen Muhammad Jahed Kamal said more than 200 people worked together to douse the fire on four floors – six, seven, eight, and nine.
He confirmed that a firefighter from Tejgaon fire station was killed in the line of duty when he was run over by a truck on the road in front of the Osmani Memorial Auditorium, located on the opposite side of the secretariat.
Md Shoyanur Jaman Noyon, 24, was crossing the road to connect the water pipe with the pump when a truck hit him. Noyon was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where on-duty doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was kept at the mortuary.
His namaz-e-janaza would be held at the Fire Service headquarters, near the Bangabazar intersection, after the Zuhr prayers.
Two Border Guard Bangladesh platoons were dispatched to the scene in the early hours to aid in rescue operations, BGB Public Relations Officer Shariful Islam said.
The presence of law enforcement personnel, including the army, police, and Armed Police Battalion, later increased as they also helped firefighters douse the flames at Building No 7 – which houses the ministries of finance, LGRD and cooperatives, youth and sports, post, telecommunication and information technology, labour and employment, and road transport and bridges, and different departments and divisions under them.
Although authorities are yet to determine how the fire started and the extent of damage, it is believed that the flames destroyed many important documents of multiple ministries. No casualties have been reported yet.
Talking to reporters at the secretariat in the morning, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said a high-powered investigative committee will be formed to determine the cause of the fire and investigate the incident.
Asked whether an act of sabotage was possible in such a secure location, the adviser responded, "Accidents can happen anywhere. I cannot comment on anything without an investigation."
Officials and employees of different ministries, departments and divisions at the secretariat started arriving to join work at around 8am but they had to wait outside as all the gates of the administration hub were locked by the security forces.
They were allowed to enter through Gate No 5 from around 9:15am.
While going in, many officials were heard wondering how could a fire of this scale start at a place with the highest security while some wondered whether it was an act of sabotage.
