The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department said on Saturday that the commercial building that caught fire at Chairmanbari area of Banani in Dhaka in the morning had no fire safety measures and plans.
The department also said that the design of the building was faulty.
The Fire Service with the help of the Air Force, Army, Dhaka WASA and Dhaka North City Corporation brought the fire under control after several hours of effort.
Vehicular movement on Airport Road was partially closed for 10 hours and that triggered severe traffic congestion on the and it later spilled over to other parts of the capital.
The fire broke out on the second floor of a six-storey building at about 9:10am, said Fire Service director (operations) Zillur Rahman.
He said that 14 fire-fighting units rushed to spot to bring the fire under control.
The office of Ananda TV, a private television channel, is located at the building’s fourth and fifth floors.
Reasons behind the fire could not be identified immediately and no causalities were reported.
Amecon Group has its showroom on the first floor and warehouse on the second floor.
The fire broke out in the warehouse and spread quickly due to the storage of huge flammable materials and chemicals, said fire officers.
Fire Service director general Sazzad Hossain said that the company stored hardboards, crests, showpieces, medals and gift items in is warehouse.
He also said that the fire was brought under control at about 1:00pm and completely doused by 7:30pm.
The DG said that firefighters faced acute water shortage and they managed some water from the adjacent building which supported fire-fighting operation for about half an hour.
He said that a probe committee will be formed to investigate the reasons behind the fire.
The DG said that the Fire Service struggled to douse the fire amid water shortage and sought help from Air Force, Army, Dhaka WASA and Dhaka North City Corporation.
Four fire-fighting units of Air Force helped the Fire Service in dousing the fire while Dhaka WASA and DNCC supplied water.
Fire Service director operations Zillur said that the building has very poor design and it even does not have any window in several floors, including the most affected second floor.
Fire Service officials had to break walls to make space for smokes getting out of the floors, Zillur said.
A firefighter said that there were huge chemical stored on the second floor and it contributed in spreading the fire quickly.
Amecon and Ananda TV authorities declined to make any comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam said that trade licence of Amecon will be suspended and it will be renewed after the company complies with the building code and fire safety recommendations provided by the Fire Service department.
Airport Road was partially closed for hours as vehicles were struck on the road or use other roads.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional deputy commissioner Munibur Rahman said that traffic gridlock spilled over in other major roads of the capital.
Traffic sergeants in the streets said that they had to divert many vehicles to other streets and it caused gridlock there, too.
