Fire at secretariat, one fireman dies

The fire that broke out at Bangladesh Secretariat building no. 7 in the capital's Segunbagicha could not be brought under control even after six hours. The building was still on fire at 7:00 am on Thursday. Fire service men are trying to control the fire.

However, the fire service is expecting the fire to be brought under control very soon. Fire service director general (DG) Zahed Kamal said this at a briefing from the spot at around 6:45 am.

He said one of their men died while dousing the fire after being run over by a truck.

The fire service DG said, “We expect to bring the fire under control within half an hour. The sixth, seventh and the eighth floor of the building were on fire. We are yet to confirm the origin of the fire.”

Zahed Kamal said a total of 19 units of fire service were deployed at the scene. Some 10 of these units are directly engaged in dousing the fire.

He further said the fire service had to break down two gates to make room for the two big vehicles inside the secretariat.

“A total of 211 firemen have been deployed there. They are entering every room to douse the fire. That work is almost completed.”

The fire service DG said firefighter Sohanuzzaman Nayan sustained injuries after being hit by a truck while crossing the road to connect a line from a local water pump. He was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead by the physicians on duty. Sohanuzzaman was working in the special unit of Tejgaon. He was from Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur.

Speaking regarding the origin of fire, the DG said, “It is not yet confirmed. The origin of fire could be confirmed only after investigation.”

In response to another question, he said no casualties inside the building have been reported yet.

According to the fire service sources they got the news at 1:52 am. They reached the spot at 1:54 am. Some eight units were deployed at the scene initially. Later, more units joined them.

According to the website of the Cabinet Division, building 7 of the secretariat houses various departments of the Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.