The fire at Banani’s FR Tower might have been caused by an electric short circuit on the eighth floor, suspects a government probe body.

Relief and disaster management Additional Secretary Md Faizur Rahman who is heading the ministry’s probe committee disclosed the information during the public hearing at Banani on Sunday (Mar 31).

The depositions of 24 people who witnessed the fire were collected during the hearing that went on from 10 am till 12 pm.

Based on the witnesses, the probe body members are suspecting that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

“The building lacked the necessary fire safety that a high rise building should have. The fire alarms didn’t go off when the fire broke out and no fire safety drills were followed,” he said.

“If fact the fire exit is very narrow and many of the fire exit doors were sealed off,” he added and said that the exits weren’t properly marked either.

On the challenges of getting out of the building, he said that the glass prevented the smoke from getting out and caused it to spread into the stairwell.

“This made it difficult for people to escape,” he said and added that they will make suggestions about what steps could have been taken to stop people from remaining trapped.

He said that the committee has spoken to the landowner as well and he has submitted all the necessary documents but the developers haven’t submitted their documents yet.

The committee will collect the deposition of those undergoing treatment at the hospitals in Dhaka in addition to the 24 eye witnesses and file the probe report by Apr 3.

Meanwhile two employees of Spectra SN Textile Ltd, a buying house, whose offices were on the seventh and eighth floor of the building challenged the probe body’s observation saying that the fire didn’t originate on the ninth floor.

The employees are the Manager Kofil Uddin and Commercial Officer Main Uddin Badhon who were there to give their witness but were told that they’d be called another day.

“I called Badhan when I saw smoke in front of the lift and staircase,” Kofil Uddin who claims to have been in the office with his colleague Badhan told Bangla Tribune.

“We didn’t see any fire inside the office. The smoke was coming from above,” he added.

Badhan said that went downstairs when they saw fire sparks falling from above but didn’t see any flame on their own floor.

However, other than these two, all 24 eye witnesses maintained that the fire started on the eighth floor.  

The fire at FR Tower on Thursday (Mar 28) killed 26 people and injured scores. Over twenty fire fighting units worked for over six hours to douse the flames.