Though, the Ministry of Industries claimed that there was no chemical warehouse at the Haji Wahed Mansion at Chawkbazar's Churihatta, where an inferno claimed 78 lives, fire fighters yesterday found huge stock of chemicals in the basement of the building.
"We have found huge quantities of chemicals in containers, which still remain on the ground floor of the building posing serious risk of further accident. If the fire would reach the warehouse, the situation might be more serious," said, Saleh Uddin, Assistant Director of the Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defence. He further said, "There was a fear of large explosion, if the fire could reach the chemical warehouse at the basement of the building.
Even, there was a probability to blow up the whole building with the explosion as there were various types of chemicals and inflammable substances including print and dyeing materials, gas lighters' refilling and perfume producing substances and powders. All of those highly combustible substances were kept in the storehouse in illegal manner."
Raton, a firefighter, firstly detected the chemical warehouse at the basement in the damaged building. Then, he informed others about this.After visiting the fire spot on Thursday, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun claimed that there was no warehouse of chemicals at the place of occurrence. Explosion of a cylinder was behind the fire incident.
Shamsul Alam, Chief Inspector of the Department of Explosive said, "No rule was followed to preserve chemicals or inflammable substances at the building. Even, the building owner or any other concerned person did not take any approval for preserving chemicals in the building. Due to persistence of flammable substances in the building, the fire rapidly engulfed elsewhere and gutted everything in a while."
Replying to a question of The Asian Age, he said, "It is being apprehended that, the fire might have been originated from any of the three reasons like the explosion of inflammable substances or transformer or gas cylinder.
Declining the claim of Shamsul Alam, Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) Managing Director Bikash Dewan yesterday said, "No transformer was exploded there on the night of occurrence. We did not get any evidence of transformer explosion. But, three electric poles and wires were gutted by the devastating fire."
Lieutenant colonel SM Zulfiqar Rahman, director (training, planning and development) of Fire Service and Civil Defense said, "Initially we apprehend that the fire might have been originated from gas cylinder explosion and engulfed rapidly elsewhere due to presence of flammable substances in the buildings."
He further said, "Normally basement is used for car parking. But, basement of the Haji Wahed Mansion was illegally used as warehouse of chemicals, which is very offensive and risky. Consequently, the building owner should bring to book soon."
The authorities concerned vowed to shift all the chemical storehouses to safer place from Old Dhaka in 2010 after the fire incident at Nimtoli. Though, the government claimed that they have taken up a project to establish chemical village at Keraniganj, the initiative has remained confined in the assurance and announcement.
It is to be mentioned that, at least 78 persons including women and children (the government sources claimed the number 67) burn to alive in a devastating fire that broke out at the Haji Wahed Mansion in Chawkbazar Churihatta of Old Dhaka on Thursday night.
In the incident, around 50 people sustained burn injuries. The injured were admitted to different hospitals and clinics. Of them, condition of six persons out of nine, who have been fighting for lives at DMCH burn unit, is stated to be critical, hospital sources said.
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