Staff Reporter:
The seven-storey factory building gutted in a devastating inferno at the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), country’s heart for economy, had no fire safety performance certificate, the Fire Service confirmed.
Fire Service Director for Operations and Maintenance Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury disclosed this after inspecting the scene on Friday afternoon.
He said the factory authorities had only submitted a fire safety plan application but failed to complete the following stages required for approval.
He also noted that the building was constructed without following national building code regulations.
After a 17-hour battle to control the blaze, authorities declared the structure highly dangerous.
Both the Fire Service and CEPZ authorities have formed separate investigation committees to determine the cause of the incident.
Chowdhury said firefighters faced major challenges due to a lack of space around the building, which prevented them from tackling the flames from all four sides as required by safety guidelines.
He stressed the urgent need for compliance across all EPZ buildings to avoid future disasters and warned that industrial fires damage not only
businesses but also the economy. The Fire Service has formed a five-member committee to investigate the fire, giving it 15 working days to submit its report.
Chowdhury said the building’s columns and overall structure have weakened, making it unsafe for entry, and recommended warning banners be placed around it. A decision on demolition will be taken after a structural survey.
He said the building housed multiple operations, including warehouse storage on four floors and production of doctors’ gowns.
The large volume of flammable materials and unsafe construction design made it difficult for easy access for firefighters to reach the source of the fire.
Thanking the Fire Service, Army, Navy, Air Force and law enforcement agencies, CEPZ Executive Director Abdus Sobhan said the first priority was to evacuate the workers, all of whom escaped safely without injury.
He claimed that the building had a fire compliance certificate and workers had recently participated in a fire drill.
Sobhan said the CEPZ authorities have also formed a separate five-member investigation panel, led by a fire consultant, which will submit its findings within seven days.
The fire began around 2pm on Thursday on the seventh floor of the building, where warehouses of Adams Caps and Textile Limited and Jihong Medical Products (BD) Company Limited were located.
Adams Caps manufactures towels and caps while Jihong Medical produces surgical gowns.
The flames spread rapidly and were brought under control at 7:30 am on Friday after a joint effort by 25 Fire Service units and four units of the Bangladesh Navy.
Borhan Uddin Tamim, senior executive of Jihong Medical Products, said the warehouse contained 10 export-ready containers of surgical gowns and 20 containers of flammable raw fabric, which intensified the blaze.
On Friday morning, parts of the building’s walls were found collapsed and twisted iron beams lay melted from the heat of the fire.
