Since Thursday morning, law enforcement officials have not allowed anyone to enter the Bangladesh Secretariat due to the fire incident. As a result, officials and employees have been waiting at the gate of the secretariat. Many have been waiting there since dawn following the incident.
By 8:45am on Wednesday, several officials were seen gathered outside the building.
Earlier, the fire that broke out in building No. 7 of the secretariat early Thursday was brought under control after six hours. The fire was extinguished at 8:05am on Thursday, confirmed Anwarul Islam, warehouse inspector at the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters media cell.
According to the information provided on the Cabinet Division's website, building No. 7 of the Bangladesh Secretariat houses several ministries and divisions, including the Ministry of Water Resources; Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; Posts and Telecommunications Division; Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives; Local Government Division; Rural Development and Cooperatives Division; Ministry of Labour and Employment; Ministry of Finance; Finance Division; Financial Institutions Division; Internal Resources Division; and Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Road Transport and Highways Division.
Around 6:45am on Thursday, Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed Kamal, director general (DG) of the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence, stated during a briefing in front of the secretariat that they received a message at 1:52am about the fire in building No. 7. Their units arrived on the scene within two minutes, at 1:54am. So far, 19 units have been deployed at the site.
However, he noted that the fire service encountered some difficulties, as large vehicles could not enter the area.
Jahed Kamal added, "We broke through the front gate and brought in two vehicles. The fire broke out on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th floors."
After the fire broke out overnight, thick black smoke enveloped the entire secretariat area. Later, members of the army, police, and APBN joined the fire service team to help control the blaze.
During the operation, a firefighter named Mohammad Sohanur Zaman Nayon was tragically crushed by a truck while laying a water line on the road in front of the secretariat. He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries, as confirmed by the DG.
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
