The helicopters attempting to rescue victims of Banani’s FR Tower helped spread the deadly blaze that claimed 26 lives on Mar 28, said Fire Service and Civil Defence chief Major AKM Shakil Newaz
“We almost had the fire under control. But when helicopters arrived to rescue some of the people who were trapped, the wind from their rotor blades blew the smoke back into the building and reignited the flames,” he said on Thursday (Apr 4).
He said that there is a time and place for the use of every machine.
Saying that Fire Service rarely receives assistance in their work, he added the delay between the start of a fire and the time when Fire Service was informed also contributes to the fire getting out of hand.
“The FR Tower fire broke out somewhere between 12:25-12:30pm but Fire Service was informed at 12:52pm,” he said.
The Fire Service director said that the traffic delayed them further from reaching that scene. “Does the fire stay where it began after 40mins in such a building?
Claiming that Fire Service was not informed on time during the recent fire incidents he said, “We were informed after everything was burned down.
“We had to fight through traffic, found no water source at the scene, and were attacked by crowds. How are we supposed to operate with these conditions?”
He added that it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure that Fire Service has a clear environment do their job.
Newaz said that there are irregularities in the construction of nearly every high-rise building in Dhaka, and that the engineers needed to take some responsibility for the fire incidents.
“We all have to take responsibility. Those who designed the building, as well as those who constructed it, played a part in the fire.”
He called for the building to never be constructed with steel, as it heats up quickly and poses a significant barrier for fire fighters.
Saying that FR Tower lacked fire safety measures Newaz added that the occupants of every building should be able to fight fires for at least 30 minutes, until fire fighters could arrive.
He said that they were further delayed by the chemical smoke inside FR Tower, caused by the burning of plastic decorations and other items.
“Indoor decorations are a major hazard for fire fighters, especially when made of plastic. It melts and can drip on the fire fighters,” he said.
He urged for the installation of proper fire alarms and warning systems, as many people in FR Tower had continued to work even after the fire began.
“About 5,000 people managed to escape, but 25 died. Why? This needs to be investigated.”
He said that in case of a fire, the Fire Service should be informed immediately, fire extinguishers should be used within one and a half minutes of the start of the fire, vulnerable people should be identified, and proper evacuation procedure followed.
Electrical and gas lines should be immediately shut down, and they need to be resilient to begin with, he said.
According to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, out of the 17,000 fire incidents that take place in Bangladesh every year, about 4,000 are in Dhaka and nearly 150 people die from fires every year.