A report of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) has stated that the fire in Churihatta, Chawkbazar originated from the first floor of Wahed Mansion. The report says that the fire possibly started due to a short circuit which touched the stored chemicals.

The IEB formed a committee on Feb 23 and made the report on Feb 25.

The report has been submitted to the PM on Monday (Mar 4).

General Secretary of IEB Khondokar Monzur Morshed said, “The report underlines the causes of the fire and makes recommendations which need to be implemented to avoid future catastrophe.”

The building stored a large amount of flammable materials which exploded, but since there wasn’t enough Oxygen in the building, the fire could not spread inside, the report mentioned.

A variety of oils and cosmetics were stored in Wahed Mansion making it into a disaster waiting to happen.

In addition, the first floor of the building was used to refill air fresheners and perfumes. The chemicals used included Ethanol and other flammable materials.

To put an end to the storing of dangerous chemicals, recommendation was made to form a high powered committee that would implement the restrictions with support from the respective mayor.

One recommendation is to gradually move people out of the old city and carry out planned urbanization.

Taking chemical factories to Keranignaj has been suggested along with making efforts to make people aware of the risks of chemical storing in residential areas.

The recommendations also include the formation of a national task force to monitor import, distribution and usage of flammable materials.

The Feb 20 fire at Chawkbazar’s Churihatta intersection claimed 71 lives so far, just nine years after the 2010 Nimtali fire that killed 124 lives.