Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus has directed the probe committee investigating the recent Bangladesh Secretariat fire to submit recommendations within 10 days to prevent fires at key locations.
Dr Yunus gave the directive when the probe body was handing over their initial report to him at the State Guest House Jamuna on Tuesday evening.
Following the submission of the report, Dr Maksud Helali, a professor from BUET and a member of the investigation committee, briefed the media saying that the chief adviser asked them to suggest long-term measures for fire prevention.
“We will present the necessary recommendations within the next 10 days accordingly," he said.
Investigation reveals no evidence of sabotage in secretariat fire
Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said Dr Yunus carefully reviewed the probe body’s preliminary report and sought long-term recommendations to be included in the final report.
All kinds of measures should be taken to prevent such incidents at the important locations, including the Secretariat; he said quoting the chief adviser, adding that the experts confirmed to him (Dr Yunus) that they will include these recommendations in the final report.
Probe Body’s Next Course of Actions
The samples collected from the spot of the fire on December 30 will be examined through various explosive detection devices in the laboratory of the Counter IED Fusion Centre of Bangladesh Army.
All CCTV footage of Building No- 7 and surrounding buildings is being monitored for 24 hours before the incident.
To further confirm whether the fire started from an electrical source, the following tests are being carried out on samples of burnt electrical cable segments, joint boxes and breakers: 1-X-ray radiograph. 2-Microscopic examination and 3-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for chemical composition of the burnt insulator can also be known as to the cause of the fire.
It will be investigated whether any other person or individuals are involved with the electrical disturbance (spark) discovered in the initial investigation.
Secretariat fire probe committee now to submit report Tuesday
On December 25, the fire engulfed Bangladesh Secretariat's four floors of Building No 7, housing offices of five ministries. It began just before 2:00 am and took the Fire Service six hours to bring it under control, with total extinguishment requiring nearly 10 hours.