Fire at Banani building

A devastating fire that broke out on the second floor of a six-storey building in Banani Chairman Bari area of the capital on Saturday morning was brought under control after four hours of frantic efforts by the firemen.
The fire started around 9:15am and fifteen fire fighting units brought the blaze under control at about 1:05pm, Lt Col Zillur Rahman, Director (Operation) of Fire Service and Civil Defence told reporters on the spot.
"The fire fighting system in the building is very inadequate. It is an old building and National Building Code was not followed. There are no basic arrangements including water reserve and fire exits," he added.
"Although the building is next to a city thoroughfare, fire-fighters faced difficulty while extinguishing it because there were no sources of water nearby," he said, adding, "We eventually had to use three windows on the third floor to get the water inside."
"The fire started on the third floor where they make different types of crests. The damaged caused by the blaze is yet to be ascertained," the official said.
Being informed, 10 fire fighting units rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire. Later, five more units joined with them.
Fire Service's Deputy Director Debashish
Bardhan said there are combustible substances on the second floor, which created smoke. The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.
Offices of Ananda TV are on the second floor of the building, Fire Service officials said.
Noor-e-Azam, Officer in Charge of Banani Police Station, said, "There were no casualties in the fire. When the fire started, people working nearby left the buildings and nearby garment factories announced day off for their workers."
The fire also interfered with traffic along the road, said Md Salauddin, a Traffic Inspector of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
While visiting the spot, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam said it is an old building and National Building Code was not followed.