Neemtoli fire 'caused by excessive oven heat'
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
FE Report
The devastating Neemtoli fire that killed at least 119 people on June 3 was caused by excessive heat released by oven used by a wedding party, a government enquiry committee has found.
The five-member probe committee, led by additional home secretary Iqbal Khan, revealed it after submitting its findings to the home minister Tuesday after 12 days of the incident.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun, who released the main findings of the report at a press briefing at her ministry on Tuesday, said
chemicals stored in a nearby warehouse exploded and quickly spread in the area.
A parked motorbike caught fire that caused a gas pipeline explosion engulfing a nearby six-storey building. At that time an electricity transformer also caught fire and exploded, snapping electricity lines in the area.
The report, however, could not identify anyone responsible for the devastating fire in the capital's old city but heavily criticised Dhaka City Corporation for not discouraging storing of flammable chemicals in the densely populated residential areas.
It suggested that the authorities should be more careful while providing licences to chemical shop owners and sellers and proposed setting up a special zone for trading these kinds of materials.
The committee stated that if WASA had hydrant points in its water supply line, it would be easier for fire fighters to get immediate water supply, which would help fire-dousing operation.
It also set out 17 recommendations to prevent such kind of pathetic incident.
Home minister after receiving the report said the government would take necessary measures in line with the suggestions given by the probe body.
Fire Service and civil defence director general Abu Nayeem Mohammed Shahidullah, additional inspector general of police Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque and other related officials were present at the meeting.
The devastating Neemtoli fire that killed at least 119 people on June 3 was caused by excessive heat released by oven used by a wedding party, a government enquiry committee has found.
The five-member probe committee, led by additional home secretary Iqbal Khan, revealed it after submitting its findings to the home minister Tuesday after 12 days of the incident.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun, who released the main findings of the report at a press briefing at her ministry on Tuesday, said
chemicals stored in a nearby warehouse exploded and quickly spread in the area.
A parked motorbike caught fire that caused a gas pipeline explosion engulfing a nearby six-storey building. At that time an electricity transformer also caught fire and exploded, snapping electricity lines in the area.
The report, however, could not identify anyone responsible for the devastating fire in the capital's old city but heavily criticised Dhaka City Corporation for not discouraging storing of flammable chemicals in the densely populated residential areas.
It suggested that the authorities should be more careful while providing licences to chemical shop owners and sellers and proposed setting up a special zone for trading these kinds of materials.
The committee stated that if WASA had hydrant points in its water supply line, it would be easier for fire fighters to get immediate water supply, which would help fire-dousing operation.
It also set out 17 recommendations to prevent such kind of pathetic incident.
Home minister after receiving the report said the government would take necessary measures in line with the suggestions given by the probe body.
Fire Service and civil defence director general Abu Nayeem Mohammed Shahidullah, additional inspector general of police Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque and other related officials were present at the meeting.