On Monday, 26 November, a gas cylinder exploded at a small shop behind Jahangir Tower. As a result, the air conditioners of the first and second floor of the towers became engulfed in fire. It took the fire service around thirty minutes to control the blaze which razed the whole of the first floor.
Such accidents involving LP gas cylinders are common, and so far, five persons, including a child, have died. While LP gas usage is rising, a guideline for its proper usage is missing. The cylinders are not even checked to ascertain if they meet standards or not.
There are more than 1.5 crore gas cylinders of two hundred companies and they are being used without adherence to any guideline.
Resident surgeon of Dhaka Medical College Burn Unit, Dr. Partha Sankar Pal, says: “fire from leaked gas spreads fast and cannot be contained with water.”
According to Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence department, there have been 106 fire-related incidents this year between January and 26 November.
Of them, 55 were due to gas line leakage while 53 from faulty cylinders. In these incidents, 11 persons died, fifty were injured and 12/13 persons have become disabled.
Senior manager of Uttara fire service station, Shafiqul Islam, told Bangla Tribune: “there is a concern about the quality of the cylinders; on top, the LP gas usage is not proper either.”
In residential flats that do not have gas connection, LP gas cylinders are kept near the garage with connections given to flats. Once the gas is used up, the guards are told by the residents to switch the empty cylinder with a filled one.
Director (operations) of Fire Service and Civil Defence, Major Shakil Newaz, says: “such connection systems are illegal and RAJUK must look into it; this may result in a devastating incident any time.”
Explosive department’s chief inspector, Shamsul Alam says: “people have to be more cautious in using LP gas and an awareness drive is a must.”
If a garage is empty then cylinders can be kept but if cars are kept there or someone smokes in that area then an accident can occur, he warned.
Meanwhile, top officials of the ministry of energy say that a draft guideline on the usage of gas cylinders has been made which is now at the ministry.
