Secretariat fire originated from electric spark

The devastating fire at the secretariat buildings originated from an electric spark near the lift lobby on the sixth floor of the building 7, the high-powered probe body's preliminary report says.
The report submitted to the government on Tuesday also said explosive experts of the army had not found the presence of any explosive material at the scene.
It said the fire had started between 1:30am and 1:49am on December 26 and then reached the developed stage by 2am.
"According to CCTV footage, the fire originated from an electric spark. Such sparks are caused by various reasons, including loose connections in sockets, faulty cable joints, and oxidation on the contact surface," said the report prepared by experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
It explained that a fire originating from such sparks gradually turns into a flashover. That is a devastating fire, and the force of the water used to douse it destroys most of the samples of the substances burnt.
"As there was no fire detection system in the building, the fire could not be detected at the incipient and growth stages," the report noted.
It further said the corridors of the buildings were like a tunnel and the false ceiling was made of highly flammable elements, which helped the fire spread quickly.
"Since the design of the building's lift and stairs was unplanned, it created the chimney effect, due to which the fire had an upward propagation and engulfed the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors also," it added.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Army's expert team in its observation said they had taken samples from three spots of the fire's origin and tested those in the Counter IED Fusion Centre's laboratory.
They used three modern explosive detection devices made in the US, the UK, and Germany.
The samples were tested using the multi-channel fluorescence technology as well as the ion mobility spectrometry and the ion trap mass spectrometry systems. The tests revealed no presence of explosives.
Besides, the presence of explosives could not be detected after a sample was tested in the BUET laboratory.
Explosive detection dogs were also deployed at the scene, but still no explosive was detected, the report further added.
In its observation, the fire service and civil defence department said the fire was at the fully developed stage when fire-fighters started their work.
There was not enough space, and the special fire-fighting vehicles could not enter the spot initially due to physical obstacles, it said.
It also said each room of the building was extensively decorated with flammable elements, causing the fire's rapid growth.
The building had no fire security system. There were hoses on some floors, but those were out of order, the fire department noted.
There was not sufficient water in the underground reservoir of the secretariat building, which is why fire-fighters had to collect water from the Osmani auditorium situated on the opposite side, it added.

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